Godzilla
by Kyero Di' Nelma
Summary: The world watches in horror as a monster torn straight from humanities worst nightmares begins to wreak havoc across the globe. Battling other giant creatures and causing untold death and destruction upon the Earth, what can be done about such a horrific and seemingly indestructible beast?
1. Chapter 1 - Tragedy At Sea

…

… *static*…

… "_We interrupt this television broadcast to bring you an emergency news bulletin. The East Wind Siren, a fishing vessel launched from Tokyo Bay, returned from its expedition on an emergency dock in O'ahu Hawaii with a sickened crew and a contaminated haul of radioactive fish. The circumstances surrounding the radioactive contamination of the catch remains unknown at this time, although several other vessels which have since returned to port in Japan have recorded similar contamination. The Japanese government has issued a public safety warning and has temporarily shut down the fishing market until all contaminated catches are identified and properly disposed of. The government sends its apologies for any and all inconvenience during this time. Please refrain from buying or consuming any and all fish products until such a time as the government lifts the safety ban on said products. Thank you for your cooperation."_

…

Sitting on a hospital bed in Tokyo was an aged man who listened to the broadcast and released a "humph" before coughing several times which brought a nurse running into the room.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

The man cleared his throat and looked over at the nurse.

"I'm fine, just leave me be." He demanded.

The nurse bowed her head and left the room, looking back with worry as he glared at the television while the news continued to broadcast about the story which just broke through about the contamination.

… _Unknown circumstances my foot… It was that thing that did this to us!_ He thought to himself as he closed his eyes.

He remembered it all too well.

…

…

_Captain's Log:_

_The date is October 17th, 2009. We're currently 59 days out of 70 on our fishing trip. We've acquired 68% cargo capacity and are hoping to reach 80% before we are forced to return to port. It has been a slow trip this time around, but the crew remains optimistic. Myself… *Sigh*… Well, I have my doubts that we'll make our quota this time. We got lucky the last few times, but everyone knows that luck doesn't last. Anyway, we've been seeing some strange activity on sonar as of late and-_ *incoherent yelling in the background*…_ We've got problems_… *click*

…

*Ping*…

A large mass flashed briefly across the screen of the sonar locator in the control room aboard the fishing vessel East Wind Siren. The Captain rushed to the control room behind his Fist Mate as he pointed towards the sonar screen.

*Ping*…

"One hundred yards out Captain." First Mate Bishop said. to the Captain next to him.

_What in the rat bashing Hell is on that screen? _The Captain thought to himself as he watched an enormous shape moving towards the ship.

*Ping*…

"Captain, what should we do? It's heading right for us!" The man on the primary sonar screen called out.

_You just expect me to have all the answers? Who the Hell prepares for things like this?!_ The Captain thought.

*Ping*…

"All hands, brace for impact!" The Captain yelled.

Everyone grabbed onto something or buckled themselves into their seats while those on deck outside grabbed hold of the edge of the ship and waited for the inevitable. The Captain was a veteran of the sea, but he'd never encountered anything like this. It was beyond any sailor's nightmare to see such a mass approaching his vessel.

*Ping*…

As the men on deck held on for dear life not knowing what was going on, one of the deckhands spied a strange shape forming in the water off the port bow heading straight for the ship.

"O-Over there!" He yelled out to his shipmates.

The crew on deck turned to look at the dark mass moving through the water. A large mound was forming and pushing large waves out to either side. They kept expecting whatever it was to break the surface, but it never did. Instead the mass began to slowly vanish from sight as the waters began to calm before some of the waves generated struck the boat. The East Wind Siren was rocked back and forth gently for a few seconds, but nothing the crew was not prepared for. The men on deck looked around and looked to each other, each one asking what the Hell had just happened.

*Ping*…

The mass passed the vessel on sonar and began moving away holding a steady speed of approximately 30 knots. The Captain looked at the sonar screen and watched as the mass disappeared from the sonar's range. He let out a sigh of relief and looked to his First Mate as they smiled to each other and laughed.

"Well, that was not something I ever hope to repeat." The Captain said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, no kidding. I thought the boat was going to be ripped in half." Bishop replied.

"Hey, greenhorn. Can you tell what it was?" The Captain asked one of the newer men watching the sonar screens.

"No sir, but I can tell you that it was enormous. It was bigger than the initial sonar images made it out to be." The boy said.

"How big?" The Captain asked.

"Almost two hundred meters long, sir." The boy replied.

The Captain was about to speak, but when he thought about how long that actually was his mouth just hung open with the first word of a sentence that never came to see the light lingering on his tongue. He closed his mouth and looked to his First Mate who looked at him with equally stunned eyes.

"Not even the biggest US submarines are that long… What the Hell was that?!" The Captain demanded.

"No telling sir, but it was changing shape as it moved."

The Captain looked back at the boy on sonar.

"Meaning what, exactly?" The Captain asked.

"Well… I think it was alive." The boy responded.

The Captain looked at the boy with utter disgust on his features as he looked over to Bishop and shrugged his shoulders.

"Boy, I think you've been on deck too long. Go below and get some rest."

"But sir-"

"No butts boy! Now get below!" The Captain yelled.

The boy stood up and saluted with a single "yessir" before running out of the room.

The Captain took off his hat and ran his hand through his aging grey hair as he heaved a sigh and leaned over his sonar screen.

"Alive eh?" He mumbled.

"Well sir, there have been reports worldwide of similar things happening. Some of them caused sea related fatalities and vessels have been disappearing at a fairly rapid rate. There might actually be something to this whole giant living thing swimming about the seas." Bishop said.

The Captain looked at him and shook his head.

"There's no way that something alive could be two hundred meters long Bishop. Even in our wildest dreams and nightmares, there's just no way…" He said to himself as he stood up and let out a breath.

"Alright everyone, let's haul in the nets and check to see what we have." He called out.

The crew responded with a unison "Yes sir!" and got to work. The nets were pulled in and the haul was lifted onto the deck, but something was wrong. The fish were usually full of life and struggling to get out of the nets, but now they were still and unmoving. Some of them even looked to have been either burned or warped by something as their bodies were convulsing abnormally with bulging eyeballs and irregular twitching of their muscles. Some of the crew drew closer and began remarking about the smell that was coming from them. Fish smell bad, that's a given, but these ones reeked of death even though they were still alive.

The Captain walked out onto the deck and inspected the haul. He picked up one of the fish and looked it over, only to discover that it was dying in his hands. He dropped the fish and continued inspecting some of the others, but with similar results. He looked to his crew and threw his arms out to the sides.

"What the Hell is this?!" He yelled.

The crew all looked to each other but shook their heads in response. The Captain let out an irritated grunt as he kicked one of the fish.

"These things aren't any good like this. Get them off my deck and get the nets back out again!" He yelled.

The crew immediately got to work and started dumping the fish who all floated lifeless to the surface of the water. But what caught the eye of the crew was that there were other fish who hadn't been caught in the nets who also floated to the surface. They were smaller for sure, but they were just as dead as their catch had been. When the deck was clear, the crew prepared for the next cycle. As they did so, one of the crew members working by the loading zone failed to see that one of the dead fish had been caught in the net again on its way back into the water which was inevitably loaded with the next fresh batch into the ships storage.

The East Wind Siren never finished its trip as it was forced back to port seven days early due to a sickened crew and Captain. Upon their emergency return to port in O'ahu Hawaii, they were all rushed to the hospital and found to have been sickened from radiation poisoning. The crew never knew what had hit them, and they found that their entire cargo had also been contaminated and disposed of by authorities shortly after it was unloaded. Not only that, but several other vessels which returned to Japan had recorded similar encounters.

Five members of the crew died from radiation poisoning that very day, and over fifty thousand dollars in cargo was lost due to that strange occurrence at sea. Over the next several days more members lost their battle for life before they were rushed to a hospital back in Tokyo where they were treated properly for the poisoning they'd received. That was the East Wind Siren's last voyage, as her Captain was forced to retire due to health complications which arose from his illness. The vessel itself was also retired and recycled, being bought and repainted by another ambitious fishing Captain who took the boat out on exactly nineteen trips before the vessel mysteriously disappeared a few years later.

The previous Captain of the East Wind Siren spent the next few years recovering from being stricken by radiation, and when he finally conquered it he decided that his sailing days were over. Instead, he turned his attention to spending time with his family and enjoying casual cruises where he didn't have to worry about running the damn thing. While on one cruise with his wife and his eldest son in the Bering Sea, he chanced upon a news bulletin on the television in his room which spoke of another disaster at sea. There were two surviving pictures from the incident, and both showed distorted images of something impossibly large glaring down at whomever had owned the camera. The image was so distorted that almost nothing could be made out, but one thing which did stand out was a large dark mass with a single eye showing in the corner of the image. The eye seemed to have a golden brown coloration with a large black pupil.

The Captain looked at the screen and shook his head.

"Well I'll be damned… The kid was right." He said to himself as he looked out the window of his room to watch a few sea birds flying near the cruise liner.


	2. Chapter 2 - Miki

*Tick* *Tock*

*Tick* *Tock*

*Tick* *Tock*

Anticipation began mounting as she tapped the eraser end of her pencil against her desk. Her eyes glanced to the clock as the seconds continued to tick by as the professor's lecture about the geography of Japan began coming to an end. All around her were others checking the clock and waiting for that bell to ring to release them from their metaphorical bonds.

"Does anyone have any questions?" The professor asked.

… Silence.

"Very well. Class dismissed." He announced.

"Rise!" Yelled the class rep.

The class rose to their feet.

"Bow!" She called out.

The class bowed to the teacher as they then took their bags and backpacks and left the room en masse. As they all walked the hall the young class rep broke off from the main mass of students and walked down the hall to the stairway on the west side of the building and jogged down them towards the main doors of the school. She passed one or two people she knew along the way and gave a friendly smile, but continued on her way as she had something important to do. As she exited the building and left the main gate of the school on her way home she broke out into a run in order to get home as fast as possible.

Block by block she ran with her hair tied into a small ponytail swishing and swashing behind her. Her bangs fell to just above her eyebrows and framed the outsides of her face giving it an almost heart shaped appearance. Her eyes were soft and sweet, but held a powerful determination which most her age did not. Her lips were light pink and bow shaped, giving her a very youthful and vibrant appearance. Her outfit was a traditional sailor fuku school uniform with a short dark blue skirt and a white top with a black tie around the neck. She wore thin socks which rose to the middle of her shins and white shoes. All in all, she was a traditional Japanese beauty.

Upon her arrival she was greeted by her mother who was outside hanging the laundry.

"Welcome home Miki." She said cheerfully.

Miki slowed to a stop and bowed to her mother with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Good afternoon mother." She replied.

Her mother chuckled and returned to her laundry as Miki went inside and dropped her things off in her room before running out back into the garden. She walked out into a small ring of flowers she had planted and sat down on her knees and closed her eyes.

… _Let's see if it happens again._ She thought to herself.

She sat quietly for many long minutes before she began to experience something strange taking place. There were whispers slowly and softly creeping into her mind. Simple, blissful whispers of the sun, the wind, the Earth and the water. She turned her head slightly and the whispers grew a little louder, and as she returned her head to a straightforward position they began to fade. She turned her head again until the whispers reached a peak in their volume and opened her eyes. The flower she was looking at was a small yellow Day Lily, and it was the first she had planted a little over a month ago when the whispers first started.

"I hear you little one." She whispered as she leaned down towards the plant.

"Do you have anything you wish to say to me?" She asked.

At first there was only silence as there had been when she first started, but slowly the whispers began to sound in her mind once more. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard on what they were saying, but she could only make out two words.

_Thank you._

She opened her eyes and smiled at the Day Lily as she leaned down and kissed it before standing up and walking back towards the house.

"They're getting stronger." She commented to herself.

"What's getting stronger?" Came a voice as she entered the house.

She started and turned towards the sound and she was met by the face of her older brother.

"Ah, brother." She said with a bow in the same manner as she gave her mother.

"When did you get here?" She asked.

"I've been here for a while actually. Work let out early." He responded.

Her older brother was nearly a foot taller than her standing at 5' 10". Miki was 5' even, and her brother would often poke fun at her for it. His name was Ken, and he was a recent college graduate from Tokyo University where he majored in education with the dream of being a high school teacher of biology. He was tall, slender and handsome with short spiked hair and a pleasant smile.

"What were you up to out there?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just saying hello to the plants." She said.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow before looking out at the garden and then back to Miki.

"Yeah, sure you were." He said with sarcasm in his tone.

Miki chuckled.

"Don't worry brother. I'm not crazy, I promise." She said as she came forward and gave him a hug.

"I hope not sis. I really do. I'd hate to have to call the authorities and have you hauled off to a loony bin." He joked.

Miki hit him in the arm and walked upstairs to her room where she laid down and closed her eyes as she thought about how she was hearing the whispers of the plants. She thought long and hard why she was able to do it at all. All she could think of was that she either was crazy as her brother jokingly teased, or there was something else going on. At that moment she had a thought and opened her eyes to jump over to her desk and open her laptop. Once it was fired up she went to the internet and began searching anything and everything she could about those who could hear whispers and she finally came across the term "psychic." For a long time she thought that was just a word that some people used to call people who told fortunes and saw the future, but apparently there was an organization devoted to helping develop and harness the power of those with psychic power.

She took an immediate interest in this concept but decided not to talk to her parents about it yet. Her parents had enough to worry about what with her about to graduate high school and her brother searching for his first teaching job at the local high schools. There was, however, a phone number on the website which she added to her phone and decided to give a call at a later time once she had told her parents about her ability to hear the plants. For the time being, however, she was content to just hone her skills on her own as there were a few tips listed on the site which she wrote down and placed in her desk drawer. She would practice them tomorrow, but for now it was time to get ready for dinner. Father would be home soon, and she wanted to make sure that they were ready for him when he got home.

The night came and went, and her father never came home nor did he call or leave notice in any way. Miki's mother became frantic after the first hour of no communication and called in his work, but there was nothing they could tell her about his whereabouts. The authorities where notified, but still no word came. As the sun rose the next morning the family was mortified and Miki didn't go in to school. Her father worked at a nuclear plant on the edge of Tokyo Bay, and word came in the news that morning that the plant was attacked and destroyed in the course of one evening. There were no photos or video footage of what happened, only eye witness reports to go on which all told a similar story of a massive reptilian monster laying waste to the plant and surrounding area. The news chopper showed evidence of massive footprints, or what looked like footprints, in the dirt areas surrounding the plant.

Miki's mother fainted when the reports came in and told of a monster attacking the plant, and her brother had to help their mother lay down while Miki continued watching the reports. When they ended, Miki was so blown away by it all that she unconsciously wandered outside and sat down in the middle of her ring of flowers. When she regained her consciousness, she realized where she was and started to cry. As she did so, she began to hear the whispers again, but they were incoherent and did little to help her. However, after a few moments, there were multiple whispers coming through clearly and coherently asking if she was alright. Miki stopped crying and looked at her plants as the whispers grew louder.

_Why do you weep?_ Came a whisper from her Day Lily.

_Little one, why do you cry?_ Came a whisper from her Lotus.

"… I don't know what's become of my father. The place where he worked was attacked and destroyed. I don't know what to do." She said through her tears.

There was silence for a moment, but then they came back.

_Fear not, he is alright._ Came a whisper from her Morning Glory.

_Yes, please do not cry little one. He will return._ Said the Lily.

Miki tried to stay positive, but it was not easy. She dried her tears and thanked the plants as she walked inside and saw her mother sleeping peacefully on the couch with her brother sitting next to her. Miki sat down next to her brother and they both watched their mother sleep for about ten minutes before a knock on the door came. Miki rose to her feet and answered the door, opening it to reveal the smiling face of her father. Miki's eyes went wide and she began to cry as she ran into his arms. He held her close and stroked her head as he tried to calm her down. Miki's brother Ken came over as well and smiled to his father and bowed to him to welcome him home. A short time later Miki's mother woke up and welcomed her husband home. They all sat down together to discuss what had happened, but he had a story no different from those of other eye witnesses.

"I had just left the plant in my car when I happened to see a strange blue light coming from the water of the bay. I stopped and looked back and saw a giant reptilian creature walking on two legs coming out of the water and lumber towards the plant. I instinctively stepped on the accelerator and accidentally ran the car into a pole and trashed the engine. I got out as fast as I could and ran away. The only thing I really remember from that encounter was the roar. Even at the distance I was I could feel it in my chest and it nearly knocked the wind from me. The sound was primal and unlike any I've ever heard before."

Miki listened to his tale and had a single question.

"Was there anything strange about the creature at all besides the roar?"

Her father thought to himself for a moment and then looked to Miki.

"Yes, now that I think about it. Maybe it was just my imagination acting up under the weight of the shock I was in, but it almost seemed like the creature was angry about something. It attacked the plant with such purpose and aggression that I could swear it was upset."

That evening the family ate dinner together in silence, nobody really having anything to say after the emotional stress they'd all been under. Miki finished her meal and went back outside to her ring of flowers as she sat down and closed her eyes.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

There was no response, but she could feel something new from them. She could feel a sense of welcoming and warmth from them which shed never felt before and she felt really good about it. She knelt down and gave all of her plants a kiss before heading back inside and going to bed. It had been a long day, and though she did not yet know it, tomorrow was going to be even worse.


	3. Chapter 3 - What is it?

It had been a year since the incident with her father, and Miki was now eighteen years old and on her way to college. She had applied to numerous universities, but thus far she had been rejected by all of them for reasons which she could not understand. The letters she received in response to her application always said something along the lines of "We're very sorry, but we just don't have room for you" or something to that effect. It was maddening to her that she couldn't find a single college to take her in.

However, there were other things going on around her which she was slowly becoming aware of. As she would go on frequent walks around the city she began to notice that some people took an interest in her and looked away when she glanced in their direction. Was she being followed? Maybe she was just paranoid, but she could swear that she could feel a sense of foreboding coming from those who watched her. Something inside was warning her about them, but as she couldn't make anything clear out of this feeling she chose to disregard it.

She continued on her walk and came upon a park with some children playing and decided it would be nice to sit and rest for a few minutes. She sat down on a bench near to the children's play equipment and brought out her diary and a pencil to begin writing.

_ Dear Diary, _

_Today is February 12th, 2013. It's a cloudy day but the sun is peeking through from time to time to share with us its warm smile. I've been seeing some strange people watching me lately, and I'm not exactly sure why. Have I said or done something to offend them? The only thing I can think of is that I finally revealed my ability to my parents and they called some friends. Maybe word got out and these people think I'm crazy? Well, I can't say for sure. I hope it's just my imagination._

No sooner had she finished writing that statement than she was suddenly approached by a man wearing a black tuxedo and sunglasses.

"Miss Miki Saegusa?" He asked in a stern voice.

She looked up at him and slowly nodded.

"Please come with me." He said as he gestured to a black limousine parked nearby with an open door.

She was hesitant, but she couldn't feel any malice or ill intent from him so she complied. She put her diary away in her little backpack and walked to the car and got inside. She sat down close to the opposite door and put her pack in her lap as the man sat beside her and knocked on the tinted glass to let the driver know to get moving. The car whirred to life and began to drive. The windows were tinted so she couldn't see outside, but the man next to her was keeping very quiet the whole time. It was eerie, and she began to have second thoughts about her decision to simply follow along with his request. However, after about thirty minutes of uncomfortable silence the car came to a stop.

The man opened the door and stepped out of the car, holding the door open for Miki a she crawled out and looked up at a large multistory building with a sign close by reading KOD, short for Kaiju Observation Division.

She blinked to herself as she looked at the man standing beside her.

"Kaiju?" She asked.

He looked down at her and nodded.

"Those reports about a monster were not untrue miss Saegusa. They are very real, and we have need of your special talent to keep track of them." He said.

As they approached the building a man in a white lab coat who almost looked like a doctor walked outside to greet them.

"Ah, miss Saegusa. Wonderful to make your acquaintance my dear. Please, follow me. We have much to discuss." He said with excitement.

He was enthusiastic, she had to give him that. He creeped her out a little, but she knew better than to judge a book by its cover so she once again decided to go along with it. He led her inside and it looked very much like any traditional office building at first. Cubicles with people working at computers, operators sitting by telephones at the front desk with a few other receptionists. Nothing too far out of the ordinary until they got on an elevator and headed to a level marked simply as "OD" on the button.

"Um, excuse me. What does "OD" stand for?" Miki asked.

"Oh, that stands for Observation Deck. It's an underground level where we monitor the movements of kaiju around the world. There have been reports coming in throughout multiple countries of their appearance, though many of them sound like a single entity based on eye witness descriptions. However, that's what makes it so exciting! Is it one monster, or many? Is it a new species or are they each one of a kind? So many questions with so few answers! It's exhilarating!" He proclaimed.

Miki just nodded as she looked away from him.

_I think he might be a bit touched in the head._ She thought to herself.

The elevator came to a stop and she was led through a dark hallway with only a few simple lights on the sides to guide them. Eventually they came to a single room which looked like something from NASA. A tremendous screen at least fifteen feet long hung on the far wall with dozens of people working computers and other kinds of monitors which she could not identify or understand. There were a few sonar monitors that she could see, but otherwise it was all just screens and strange writings. She was led towards the big screen where the doctor looking man asked her to wait for a moment while he brought up what he called a "most invigorating discovery." It took him a moment, but as she looked at the screen a satellite image of a large heat mass took shape.

"Now, look closely at this mass of heat miss Saegusa. Watch how it changes as we rotate the camera." He said.

The camera angle began to change, and the mass took on a more prominent form. From what she could only identify as directly above seemed a simple mass of red and orange heat, as it moved to the side it began to grow longer and more pronounced. There was a definite bipedal shape to be seen, but of what she could only speculate.

"Now, watch as we take it off of thermal imaging." He said with great excitement.

The camera flashed, and all went dark.

"Enhance!" The doctor called out.

The screen brightened, and the image horrified MIki.

Standing in the middle of the screen in a picture taken from the same night one year ago when her father's plant was attacked was a monstrous bipedal reptilian colossus with jagged spines along its back and a menacing and evil face. Its golden brown eyes flashed angrily at the world below as it trampled the plant, and she could only describe it as a living nightmare.

"Isn't it beautiful?!" The doctor exclaimed.

Miki was too stunned to respond. All she could do was stare at the image of the monster.

"At the moment we don't quite know what to call him, so we are using the moniker Godzilla for the time being."

Miki looked at him with confusion.

"God what?" She asked.

"Oh, Godzilla. "God" being used because his power is just so incredible, and "Zilla" because it's a fairly common suffix to describe something of extreme excess like Bridezilla. That and his body is constantly expelling radioactivity which further led to our choice of the suffix."

Miki nodded and looked back at the screen. She couldn't get over how terrifying it was. The deep cut mouth and the placement of the eyes made it look absolutely ferocious no matter what angle the camera moved to. The triangular shape of the body gave him a great feeling of mass and power, which was made all the more obvious when one paid close attention to the musculature of his legs and chest. The skin was rough and appeared very reptilian, but there was something that just didn't quite fit the usual reptile profile about it. It was a charcoal grey in coloration and just looked, almost deformed. It was as if he was once a reptile but now he was something all together different. The spikes along his back were long and jagged, and Miki didn't dare guess what they were there for.

"Oh, I have to show you something truly amazing miss Saegusa!" The doctor suddenly told her.

She started for a moment as he brought her out of her thoughts, and as he fiddled with the keyboard once again a new picture was brought up on the screen. The monster's spikes were glowing now with an eerie blueish coloration as a blue light was building inside his mouth. The picture was a little unclear with all the dust and cloud vapor which was pooling around his head, but it was obvious that he was charging some kind of an attack.

"This picture was taken just off the American coastline in Oregon two months ago. See how the air around his mouth swirls in multiple small currents? Whatever he is doing is forcing a change in the air density around his head which is causing this light interference. Those spines of his are interesting too. Just look how they glow! It's almost as if they are being used as a filtration system or something to that effect for this blue light. Unfortunately our satellite camera began to malfunction after this so we don't know what became of this light, but we do know that this was the end result." He said sadly.

He brought up a new picture and it was pure and utter destruction. Entire sections of buildings were just gone as if vaporized, millions of tons of stone and debris littered the area, and there was not a single trace of life left behind.

"Whatever that blue light was, we are fairly certain that it was the major factor in this destructive horror show." The doctor said.

Miki stepped away from the screen and fought to hold back tears.

"Why are you showing me these pictures?" She asked.

"Because your gift may be the key to understanding this creature. If we can get you close enough to it without risking exposure to radiation, you may be able to communicate with it. As with any form of government, ours just wants him destroyed and they're willing to devote and divert whole sections of our country's budget to that cause. They want to kill him, but we want to understand him. Don't you see? It's the chance of a lifetime! If we can learn to understand this creature. If we can learn what makes him tick. Oh the possibilities are almost endless!" He cried out.

Miki shook her head as she looked back at the screen.

"You're crazy." She said quietly.

"Pardon?" He asked, as he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to hear her.

"I said you're crazy!" She yelled.

"I'll never go near that thing! I don't care what you offer me!" She cried out as she lost her battle with her tears.

The doctor looked at her in shock.

"But, miss Saegusa. This is the chance of a lifetime. If we can learn to understand him then we won't have to worry about this kind of destruction again because we'll know how to prevent it. Don't you want that?" He asked, trying to redirect her fear into curiosity.

"No, I don't!" She yelled.

"Get me out of here! I want out!" She screamed.

The doctor had no choice but to escort her out of the room as he helped walk her to the exit. The man who brought Miki here was still standing in the lobby as Miki and the doctor came around. When he caught sight of Miki, he looked at the doctor.

"Problems?" He asked.

The doctor nodded.

"You could say that. I guess she's still too young to understand." He said softly.

Miki shot the doctor a glare.

"I understand perfectly what's going on and what you're trying to do, but I can promise you that it won't work." She said angrily.

The doctor sighed and nodded to the man in the tuxedo who escorted Miki to the car and drove her back to the park where they first found her. She was set free and they drove away as Miki sat down on her bench and cried.


	4. Chapter 4 - Another Kaiju?

_Attention passengers, this is your pilot speaking. We expect to encounter some mild turbulence ahead so please fasten your seat belts until the turbulence has cleared._

In one of the window seats just above the wing of the plane sat a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who watched the world outside go by with great interest and excitement.

"Mommy, what's that?" She asked as she pointed outside the window at something.

"Hmm? What's that sweetheart?" Her mother asked.

The girl pointed again outside the window at something in the clouds.

"I don't see anything sweetie. Are you sure you didn't just see a bird?" She asked.

The girl shook her head.

"Uh uh. I saw a big thing flying over there." She said with a big smile.

Her mother looked at her and chuckled.

"Sweetie, I think you've been watching too many cartoons lately." She said as she patted her daughter's head.

"But mommy, I really saw something." The girl insisted.

Her mother chuckled again and leaned her head back to rest her eyes as the girl pouted at her with puffed out cheeks and pursed lips. The girl crossed her arms and let out a breath of frustration through her nose. She looked outside and thought for a brief moment that she saw the thing again through a small gap in the clouds, but she couldn't tell.

The turbulence started not too long after as the plane entered a large cluster of clouds and became a very bumpy and uncomfortable ride. The girl shook around in her seat until the turbulence started to ease up after a few minutes and looked out her window once again. She couldn't see the thing, but she could see that there was something going on with the clouds nearby.

"Mommy, what are the clouds doing? Are they dancing?" She asked.

Her mother opened her eyes with a sigh and looked out the window, and this time she saw exactly what her daughter saw. Not more than a few hundred yards from the plane in the clouds was something moving at high speeds. She couldn't see what it was, but it was creating a wake in the clouds which was larger than the plane. Her eyes widened and she subconsciously placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders in a protective manner as she watched the wake grow larger and larger. All around her were people noticing and talking about it amongst themselves while trying to discern what it was.

Then, something amazing happened. A large shape formed alongside the wake which pushed the clouds up and out before disappearing beneath them once more. The shape was round and impossibly large, but nobody could yet see exactly what it was. It appeared again, with a second identical shape appearing on the other side of the wake through the clouds. They appeared in unison several times, each time becoming slightly larger as the clouds began to thin out. A large mass was becoming visible beneath the haze, and whatever those large things were on the sides of the wake were slowly taking on bright and vivid colors. Finally, the Captain announced that the turbulence would be ending as the clouds were breaking ahead into a clear blue sky. It was an announcement that filled the people aboard with dread.

Sure enough, the clouds finally broke away and gave way to a clear sky. There, flying alongside the plane was an enormous moth-like creature. The people on board started screaming in fear and started getting out of their seats in hopes of finding a safe place to hide away though it was in vain. Trapped inside a giant metal plane, where was there to hide if something went wrong after all? The mother and daughter remained in their seats and watched the giant moth. The little girl was mesmerized by its beauty and grace as it flew silently and smoothly beside the plane. The magnificent colors and shapes on its wings were absolutely gorgeous, and the little girl couldn't help but murmur in wonder to herself about it.

As the people began to panic, there was a strange sound filing the plane. As everyone slowly took notice of it and calmed themselves, the sound grew louder.

It was music.

A strange, tribal music began to fill the minds of the people and oddly enough began to calm them down. They all returned to their seats and sat down as the music slowly faded and the moth began to increase its speed and fly away. It veered off to the west towards the pacific ocean and disappeared into the distance as the plane continued on its course northwards. The little girl was a little sad to see the moth go, but at the same time she was happy to have seen it.

"Wasn't that pretty mommy?" She asked her mother as she continued gazing out the window in the direction the moth had gone.

Her mother had no words. She only sat there gently gripping her daughter's shoulders as she tried to comprehend what she had just seen. She had heard of the monsters sighted around the world, especially in Japan and throughout eastern Asia, but she never thought they were actually real. But there it had been, clear as day. A monstrous moth which was bigger than the plane she was on which had flown alongside them for several minutes before turning away and flying into the distance. She couldn't believe it, but at the same time she couldn't deny it either. She sat back and looked at the ceiling of the plane as she tried to make sense of it all.

About an hour later the plane landed and the mother and daughter made their way through the airport to the street where the girl's father was waiting for them with a smile.

"Hey you two, are you alright?" He asked as he recognized that his wife was in shock.

"We saw a giant moth daddy!" His daughter exclaimed.

"A giant what?" He asked.

His wife was silent and seemingly staring into space as he gave her cheek a light slap to bring her out of it. The method worked and she blind before shaking her head and looking at her husband.

"You alright hun?" He asked.

"I… Don't know." She said quietly.

"Mommy, tell him about the moth!" Their daughter said as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Did you really see a giant moth?" He asked.

His wife nodded her head silently. In response, he shook his head slowly and let out a sigh.

"I've been hearing more reports lately about monsters, but I didn't think they were true. But if you two say that you both saw one, then I believe you. Plus, I've been hearing other people talk about the same thing just before you got here. Now come on. Let's go home." He said as he led them to the car.

On the drive home the daughter described the large moth to him and he drew a mental picture of what she told him. Being an artist, it wasn't hard for him to do so. The both's body was primarily white with orange stripes along its abdomen. The underside of the abdomen was black and it looked like it had a stinger on the end. The wings started off white, but quickly gave way to a myriad of colors. The hindwing was orange which gave way to red along the outer edge with small black markings around the middle and a small yellow oval shape with a red dot in the middle of it. The forewing was black with yellow markings streaking across the middle and purple markings along the upper edge. There was a red circle with a black ring just inside of it which in turn had a yellow ring and then another red circle. The moth had large glowing purple eyes and two small antennae on its head with a black "beak" on the front.

When they got home he painted a picture of what he had been told and asked if it was what they had seen. Both his wife and daughter affirmed that it was almost exactly what they had seen and that while it was beautiful it was incredibly frightening. Well, it was for his wife anyway. His daughter was practically in love with it and wanted to see it again. He laughed a little bit but at the same time he was just as frightened of the idea of a giant moth as his wife had been. There was no telling whether or not it was actually friendly. While the music which sounded in the plane was calming, nobody knew exactly where it came from.

Later that evening there was a television news report about the very moth they'd seen as it flew across the western United States coastline before turning away and flying off towards the pacific ocean. There was a single picture taken of it which was a little blurry, but it was enough for everyone to get a good idea of what it looked like. He looked at the picture and then looked to the one he painted earlier and found that it was remarkably similar. The moth was reported to have flown all the way from Central America up the coastline through to Washington State before it turned towards the ocean and disappeared. And when they said disappeared, they meant it literally. The moth was on satellite imagery until it reached a certain point in the ocean and then it just vanished according to the news report.

Not more than five minutes later another news report came in that the Japanese government had just unleashed a counterstrike against a monster that had been plaguing its shores for a the past four years. The counterstrike was still underway and there was no news yet as to whether or not it had succeeded, but everyone's hopes were high. Even one less monster meant one less monster for the world to deal with. The news reports came to an end a minute or two later and no further updates as to the whereabouts or activities of the monsters around the world came in. With the absence of news reports the man turned to a different channel to watch boxing while his wife tended to their daughter and tucked her into bed. When she was done she came out to sit with him and they spoke about what to do. They discussed what they'd have to do if a monster ever attacked their home, and they both eventually settled on going to stay with her parents who lived out in Wyoming. A common trait among the monsters was that they favored the coastlines and the sea so going inland made sense.

The next morning, the family was exposed to some rather dire news on the television. The counterstrike initiated by the Japanese government consisted of an entire fleet of Japanese naval vessels including aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers, submarines, and even a squadron of fighter and bomber aircraft. It was a rather desperate attempt to deal with the threat of the monster who had previously attacked Japan and its nuclear power plants, but it came with a terrible price. The entire fleet was annihilated and only one bomber aircraft and two fighter jets made it back to report on the battle. Thousands of soldiers had lost their lives in this fight and the Japanese government was now facing backlash from the people about having sent so many of their troops out to die. As the pair watched the news they could only wonder what kind of devastation the world would face next.

(For those wondering, I'm thinking of Mothra from GMK)


	5. Chapter 5 - Fast Approaching

_ Dear Diary,_

_Today is March 22nd, 2014 and I discovered a few months back that I can hear the thoughts and feel the emotions of not only plants, but also animals and even humans. It was rather scary when I discovered I could do this, but over these last few months I've honed my abilities quite well to the point where they take almost no effort. The psychic organization I found last year contacted me about learning to study from them, but at this stage I didn't think I needed it so I declined. Since then I've been searching for a job, and I think I may have found one. _

_Ironically, the job is working as part of a team which was doing more or less the same thing as those KOD people were doing. This team is attempting to study Godzilla, but they are a small tight nit unit as opposed to an organization so I think that helped my decision. They said that communicating with Godzilla or other monsters might in fact become a job for me at some point, but for the time being just trying to lock in on their thoughts and emotions would be good enough to study them and learn to understand them. Hopefully this will not come back to bite me later, but only time will tell._

_The leader of the group is Ken Inouye, a graduate of Tokyo University like my brother who majored in animal behavior and minored in biology. He is thirty three years old and very handsome. He looks younger than he is, actually, but he's engaged to the second in command who's named Akiko Nakazawa. Akiko is twenty seven and majored in engineering in Osaka. She is the one who designed the tracking and analyzation equipment the team uses. Without Akiko and her special equipment, we'd know next to nothing about Godzilla or any of the other monsters._

_Another member of the team is another psychic like me. Her name is Sayuri Okumura, and as a psychic her ability is focused less on feeling emotions like me and instead focuses more on being able to sense the presence of the monsters. Sayuri is unsure of whether or not she feels their energy or if she is sensing their aura, but whatever is going on she can detect the monsters when she comes within a certain distance of them. The distance varies with each monster, but she knows for a fact that she can sense Godzilla from at least a half mile away._

_The final member of the team is Keiichi Ueda, and he specializes in foreign languages so that when the team travels abroad to study the monsters Keiichi can get the team through customs and speak with authorities who don't speak Japanese. I haven't seen him use these skills yet, but he seems well versed in reading Akiko's inventions as well._

_All in all, the team is somewhat strange, but being a psychic I really don't have room to talk do I? Either way I'm happy to be working towards a cause that's meaningful like this even if I wasn't ready for it last year. The idea of getting close to the monsters scares me greatly, but if it can help us understand them then we might be able to avoid the destruction that they bring. Maybe in time we can learn to communicate with them as well, though I have my doubts about that one. With luck I will be proven wrong, but until such a time I will remain skeptical about communication and focus more on learning to read their emotions and hear their thoughts._

_ Miki Saegusa_

"Hey Ken, anything on radar yet?" Akiko called out.

"Nothing yet dear." He replied.

Akiko was monitoring one of her newest inventions which combined seismic surveillance with air pressure monitors to make sure that both land and air were covered. Godzilla's bulk and the giant moth's wing beats both created very sizable ratings even from a distance, so it only made sense to her to make some customized equipment to monitor them. There were only two or three other reports which did not match Godzilla or the moth's description worldwide, but just in case they had set up underwater sonar along the coastlines to make sure that the sea was covered as well.

Miki had just arrived for the day at 6:30am when Akiko nearly collided with her in the doorway to their big RV which held most of their equipment. If there was one thing Akiko was, it was mobile.

"Whoa, Miki. How's it going?" She asked.

"Good morning Akiko, I'm doing well. Am I late?" She asked.

Akiko shook her head.

"No, we're just going trough final preparations and getting ready to move out. Keiichi and Sayuri will meet us at the location and we'll see if we can't find anything."

"Akiko, just out of curiosity, what is the location?" Miki asked.

"We're taking a trip south to Sagami Bay. It's going to be a pretty long ride so make sure you have everything you need before we set off. We'll be on the road for another two days after that along the coast as we travel to Shimoda after that. The radiation from Godzilla's body has been detected along this route lately. He hasn't made landfall yet, but we know that he must be close by. If we can either get him on radar or possibly get Sayuri to sense his presence then we'll get to work. If we don't get anything like last time, we'll head back here and draw up some new plans."

Akiko started to walk outside agains to pick up and load some more of her equipment into the RV to get ready for the trip.

"Akiko, what do I do if we find him?" Miki asked.

Akiko glanced over to Miki as she picked up a monitor.

"Well, do what you do I guess. Try and make a connection with him. See if you can feel his emotions or try to read his thoughts. Anything you can manage would be great so just do your best. If you can't get through, then don't worry about it."

Miki nodded and walked inside the RV.

"Hi Ken." She said as she walked in and sat down.

"Hello Miki. Did you get some good rest last night?" He asked.

"Yes." She responded.

"Good, cause you'll need it for the road." He said as he continued monitoring the screens which were set up and ready to go.

Miki looked over his shoulder at the screens, but she couldn't make out what they were depicting beyond the sonar. She knew that a ping on sonar meant something was there, but beyond that the screens were foreign to her.

"What are you watching for right now?" She asked.

"I'm keeping an eye on the seismic activity along the edge of Sagami Bay. Keiichi set up a few sensors along the coastline so if Godzilla comes within about a mile and a half of shore we'll pick him up here. The other screen over here is sonar which is reading the response from sensors placed about thirty yards off shore in the water. The sonar has a five mile range because it's all we could afford, but it should be more than enough for picking up Godzilla. He's a hard target to miss."

Miki looked around the RV and took note of the food and water around the kitchen area and realized that aside from eating and monitoring the equipment, the RV wasn't set up for much else. There was no bathroom on board, so if anyone needed to use the restroom they'd have to stop somewhere. There were enough chairs for everyone on the team, but it would be cramped quarters for most of the trip. Miki was not claustrophobic, but she didn't enjoy tight spaces.

Akiko walked in and finished loading up her equipment before taking to the driver's seat and firing up the RV.

"Alright you two, take a seat and get ready for a road trip!" She called out.

The RV took off and Miki watched the world go by outside the windows for over an hour before the RV came to a stop at a gas station. Miki and Akiko got out and Miki used the restroom and bought some snacks while Akiko filled up the gas and got ready to move again. Once they got back on the road Akiko had Ken take over the driving while she and Miki sat down and played a few board games while they kept an eye out for the monitors.

"So Miki, what is your plan if we do run into Godzilla?" She asked.

"Well, I don't know. I guess I'll do what you said and do my best to make some kind of connection with him. I don't know if I'll be able to though, as Godzilla isn't exactly a cat or a flower." She said.

Akiko laughed to herself for a moment before she looked back to the monitors when she heard a beeping sound go off. She was silent for a moment, but the screens were then blank for about thirty seconds before she returned her attention to Miki.

"Well I'm glad you're on board to try at least. I know that if I had your abilities I'd probably be in the same boat as you. Godzilla scares me to be perfectly honest, and I can't say with any certainty that I'd enjoy getting close enough to make a connection… Speaking of, I remembered Sayuri telling me that she needs to be within a certain distance of the monsters to make a connection. Do you know if that's true of your ability as well?" She asked.

Miki was caught off guard by the question as she'd never thought about it before.

"I don't know, but I hope not. The farther from Godzilla I can be, the better." She said with a nervous chuckle.

Akiko watched Miki's reaction with interest, but smiled to herself and laughed a bit with the young girl before returning her attention to the screens. The two girls chatted for a while longer about some random topics until Akiko got a call on her cell.

"Hello?… Yes, we're on our way now… About an hour and a half away, why?… Okay, we'll be there." She said as she hung up the phone.

"That was Keiichi. He wanted to let me know that two of our sonar units are out of order and that he's going to be fixing them up before we get there."

"Is it safe to do that?" Miki asked, obviously concerned the Godzilla had been in the area recently.

"Yes, don't worry about him. All he has to do is swap the sensors which will take him all of two minutes to do. The radiation levels are very low, so as long as he doesn't linger he'll be just fine." Akiko said reassuringly.

Miki nodded to her as she started watching the seismic equipment.

"I think I just saw it get a reading." Miki said.

"Really?" Akiko asked as she scooted her chair over to take a closer look.

"Hmm… Yep, there sure is a reading. It's really weak, but something just tripped one of our sensors. I can't say that it's who we hope it is, but I'd say it's a good sign. Let's keep out eyes on it a while longer and see if there's any change." She said as she kept her eyes locked on the screen.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and no further sensors were tripped along the way. When they arrived at location Sayuri greeted them outside the smaller RV she and Keiichi had used to get there. Akiko and Ken had a few words with Keiichi about the sensors he replaced and found out that one of them had actually been damaged by something and wasn't a simple malfunction. The sensor had ben retrieved and it looked like it had been hacked with a knife or something. Thankfully the sensors were all disguised so the others were safe, but still, if someone was trying to stop them monitoring for monsters then they had problems. It only took one person to ruin such an experiment after all, so the group decided to take a few extra security measures for the remainder of their outing.

The day came and went and nighttime descended upon the group. Sayuri had gone to sleep inside the larger RV with Ken and Keiichi monitoring the screens while Akiko and Miki stayed outside to watch the ocean. The two had spent the majority of the day talking and began forming sort of a big sister little sister bond together. Akiko was definitely the maternal type and already felt comfortable enough around Miki to give her hugs and call her a "little cutie" whenever she said something she thought was cute or when she did something cute. Miki was a little embarrassed by it, but it felt good to know that Akiko liked her and that she had a place on board the team.

"It's a nice view isn't it? I almost forget that I'm here to track a monster as I watch the waves on the shoreline." Akiko said calmly.

"Yes, I get that feeling too. Looking out at the ocean you can completely forget that they even exist." Miki said in return.

They stared out at the ocean with the moon overhead when Ken and Keiichi told them that they were going to go to bed. Keiichi went to the small RV while Ken went to his bunk in the big RV. Akiko gave her fiancé a kiss goodnight and returned to Miki who was standing with her feet in the water. Akiko kicked off her shoes and joined Miki as they watched the moon on the water for a few silent minutes together.

"Miki, what do you think will happen if any other monsters besides the two we know about start showing up?" Akiko asked.

Miki had honestly not thought about the possibility of even more monsters showing up. Godzilla was bad enough, not to mention the fact that there was a giant moth out there somewhere plus an unknown wandering around which had yet to be identified. If even more monsters arrived it could be even more of a disaster.

"I really don't know what to think about that Akiko… But if it comes to that then I guess I'll just take it one step at a time."

As Miki and Akiko began approaching the RV, there was a very distinctive sound coming from the big RV. Akiko and Miki stopped just outside before Akiko ran in with Miki close behind. Ken was already out of bed and staring at the screen of the seismic equipment with Sayuri watching the sonar as a massive blip appeared on the edge of it and began approaching their position. It didn't take much longer for Sayuri to start shivering and breathing erratically. Miki wrapped her arms around Sayuri and asked if she was okay to which the girl responded with two ominous words: "It's here."

Miki turned her head and walked outside with Sayuri still in her arms as they watched the water in the distance. There was a very small mound of water beginning to form near the horizon as the waves began undulating out to all sides and away from the mass that was approaching. As the mound of water drew within about a quarter mile of shore it stopped and disappeared. The two young psychics watched the water with wide eyes as they both felt the powerful presence of the creature which had just arrived. Sayuri could feel the presence better than Miki could, but Miki could still sense the power of the monster in the bay. It was a terrifying feeling for Miki to be able to feel the creature's presence, but at the same time there was a strange comfort in being able to do so as well. At the moment, however, Miki was too scared to really appreciate the feelings in her heart and mind.


	6. Chapter 6 - A Disappointing NIght

The night was silent save for the beeping of the sonar sensors inside the RV. Miki and Sayuri both stood outside watching the water as it calmed under the moons light. Though the waters were silent, the overwhelming presence of something beneath the waves was almost too much for the girls to bear as they both dropped to their knees in fear. Akiko, Ken and Keiichi all walked out of the RV's they were in as well and slowly walked up to Miki and Sayuri while watching the water as well.

Keiichi walked a few extra steps forward and peered at the water from the shoreline with everyone else staying behind by the RV's a few dozen yards away. As he watched the ocean's surface, he could just barely make out the shape of something massive sitting beneath the waves. It was unmoving, and he couldn't make out its true form, but he had a pretty good idea what it was. There was no eye shine, no glowing blue light like in the pictures captured on the news from satellite images which the government tried to hide but failed, and there was no further movement. Keiichi backed away slowly and knelt down next to Miki as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Miki, try reaching out to it." He said quietly.

Miki looked over at him very slowly with wide eyes filled with fear.

"What?" She asked.

"Just try reaching out to it. You don't have to move, just… reach out." He said.

Akiko knelt down behind her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We're right here MIki. If something happens, we'll be ready to help." She whispered.

Miki looked over her shoulder and nodded. She turned to face the water and managed to stand up as she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. Slowly her heart rate came under control and she was finally able to focus on the presence she could feel out in the Bay. She reached with her thoughts, trying desperately to establish some kind of connection with it. Slowly but surely, Miki began to feel the emotions the creature was feeling but they were strange. At first she couldn't understand what they meant, but as she allowed herself to relax she began to understand what was going through its mind.

"… It's waiting." She said quietly.

"Waiting?" Akiko whispered.

Miki nodded.

"It's waiting for... something. I can't tell what yet." Miki responded, halfway in a trance.

"Let's wait it out. Keep it up Miki, you're doing great." Ken affirmed.

Miki continued to analyze its emotions and its thoughts, but eventually they completely stopped. Miki tried over and over again to reestablish a connection, but it was as if the creature had blocked her off. She couldn't understand how or why, but she could no longer feel what it was going through. She opened her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Anything else Miki?" Keiichi asked.

Miki shook her head.

"No, it blocked me somehow. I tried, but I couldn't connect with him anymore."

Akiko looked to Miki.

"Him?" She asked.

Miki looked back, slightly confused by the question.

"You said him… Do you mean that you now know for a fact that it is male?" Akiko asked.

Miki looked back towards the water.

"… I think so." She said softly.

No sooner had Miki spoken than the sensors inside the RV began going haywire. Akiko and Ken ran back inside to check and see what was going on, and they found the seismic readings were off the charts as well as air density changes which were puzzling. Something was close by and was causing havoc with their equipment, but what was it and how was it doing it? The two of them could only look at each other in wonder and confusion as they ran outside to rejoin the others.

"What's going on?" Keiichi asked.

"We don't know. The equipment is going nuts, but we can't see or feel anything going on out here." Ken responded.

Sayuri watched the water still frozen in fear, but seemed to finally find her voice.

"He's calling." She said quietly.

Miki looked at her and gripped her shoulders again.

"Calling?" Miki asked.

Sayuri nodded.

"He's calling out to her." Sayuri said again.

"Her?" Akiko asked.

Sayuri nodded again as the calm air around the group was replaced by a mild breeze which seemed to come out of nowhere. The breeze picked up in intensity and turned into forceful gusts of wind which forced the group to gather back in the RV. They stayed in the doorway to try and make sense of what was going on as they then realized that the giant moth was now descending upon the Bay. It approached the water and floated above it, calling down to it with a high pitched screeching sound which forced the group to cover their ears. There was no audible response, but with the seismic activity still going off they figured that the creature in the water must have been using subsonic calls which the sensors picked up in the ground while the moth picked them up through the air.

Miki and Sayuri held each other close as they 'listened' to the conversation and tried to make sense of it.

The moth continued to call down at the water for several minutes before the water was suddenly disturbed. There was movement underneath the surface for a few seconds before the familiar mound of water began to move away from the shore and out to sea once more. The mound disappeared and the wake trailing it vanished as well while the moth hovered in place for a moment longer before flying higher into the sky and disappearing beyond the horizon.

Everyone in the group wandered outside and looked around with Ken and Akiko shrugging their shoulders in wonder and asking each other what just happened.

_You must not pursue him any farther_. A pair of female voices suddenly called out.

Everyone in the group froze in place and looked to each other.

"Did you say anything Miki?" Akiko asked.

"No, I didn't. Did you?" Miki responded.

"No." Akiko said.

The men knew they couldn't make voices like that, but who could? Sayuri was still silent as ever in Miki's arms and she couldn't sound like two people at once.

"Who's there?" Ken demanded.

_Please do not pursue him any farther. He is beyond your understanding._ The voices warned.

"Who are you? Why are you trying to dissuade us like this?" Keiichi asked.

_Time is short and we haven't time to explain. Please just do as we say. For your safety and ours, do not pursue him._ They warned one final time.

"Wait! Who are you?" Akiko called out.

… Silence.

The group all looked around and wondered what was going on. The two voices were never identified and the equipment suddenly seemed to stop functioning when the voices were going off. Something strange was going on and everyone seemed determined to figure out what. Everyone save for Sayuri who was still in shock and trapped in a state of fear from what she felt from the monster in the water. Miki stayed by her side all night and laid down with her to try and help her fall asleep. It didn't seem to be any use though. Even with Miki wrapping her arms around Sayuri she wouldn't come out of that state. It was a restless night for everyone, but Miki especially as she tried to comfit Sayuri. Come the morning she seemed to be back to normal, but she was still reticent to talk about what had happened and what she had felt.

As the morning came and went and afternoon settled in Ken and Akiko went over the equipment to try and figure out where the monster in the water headed. They decided on calling him Godzilla in accordance with what Miki had told them about her experience with the KOD, and they managed to trace a path he may have taken based on past reports and patterns. Despite the warning of the voices last night, both Ken and Akiko were determined to get a good look at him before they allowed themselves to rest. After a brief conversation with the rest of the group they all agreed to follow the trail and see if they couldn't make contact with Godzilla. Despite his numerous appearances, the world had yet to get a solid look at him or what he was capable of. For such a large creature, he had a knack for avoiding the spotlight.

The frustrated group finished their trip and returned to Tokyo to examine what data they had managed to salvage and poured over it for several days. Miki and Sayuri listened to the recordings of the moth and Godzilla's "conversation" and did their best to try and interpret what was going on, but as it was only audio they couldn't make the same connection they could make when the monsters were actually there. It was no different than listening to static at that point, and they had to give up that idea. Akiko and Ken checked the different sensory equipment to see if they couldn't learn something from it. However, it turned out to be like trying to learn something from a dirt clod.

As they continued to examine their data and try to learn what happened and why it was that the voices tried to warn them away from following Godzilla. They didn't have any intention of bringing him any harm or trying to interact with him beyond possibly getting Miki to communicate with him from a distance, so why were they being warned away? They also never got any recordings of the voices on their equipment either. All they heard on the audio was themselves asking questions of the silence which sounded ridiculous. Akiko actually laughed at the recording and they all began to wonder if they weren't just hearing things. However, if they were, then why did they all hear the same thing?

They had no answers, but they were left with many questions which in essence was something of a success. Never the less, they were all disappointed that they couldn't see Godzilla that night. Seeing the giant moth was all well and good, but they had their hearts set on Godzilla.

"Next time." Akiko said to herself as she studied some of the seismic graphs.


	7. Chapter 7 - Too Close For Comfort

"It's been two months since we got to within an inch of seeing Godzilla, and now we're royally screwed!" Akiko yelled.

"I know Akiko, I know. But we don't have a choice anymore!" Ken responded from across the room.

The two continued their bickering as Miki cautiously approached the building they were in and walked through the door. Neither of them noticed her entrance, so she made her way to a chair and sat down quietly as they continued.

"How did this happen?" Akiko asked.

"I don't know who, but someone managed to find all of our sensors and destroy them. Not only that, but someone snuck into the RV's and trashed most of your gear. Does that answer the question for the fifth time?" Ken yelled back.

"Don't yell at me Ken! You can't pin this on me!"

"I'm not trying to pin it on you!"

"Then stop mentioning me and my stuff because it's not all my gear the was trashed, it was yours too!"

"I know! You don't have to remind me when I'm holding some of my trashed gear in my hands right now!"

"Oh just shut up and get it out of here! Maybe we can salvage something from it."

"What do you think I've been doing?!"

"Ugh!" Akiko exclaimed.

Just then, Akiko noticed Miki sitting quietly in the corner.

"Miki! How long have you been here?" She asked, releasing a sigh of frustration.

"Since "How did this happen?" I believe." Miki responded.

"Sorry about that. We've both been really agitated, to say the least, about the loss of our equipment." Akiko said sadly.

Miki looked around and saw what she meant. Yesterday everything was fine, but today the monitors were all smashed in, the sensors were utterly destroyed, the keyboards were bashed in with what looked like a hammer, and overall everything was just completely unusable.

"Sorry." Miki said quietly.

"It's not your fault." Ken said as he walked by and tossed a dead monitor into the trash.

"We let our guard down and paid the price. We should have known from that first busted sensor two months ago that someone didn't want us searching for, or at least finding, Godzilla. I have to wonder if it has anything to do with those voices we all heard." Ken said as he continued about his business.

Miki continued to sit quietly in the corner until Akiko asked for some help. Miki got up and started helping them gather up what gear might be saved and tossing that which could not when Sayuri and Keiichi arrived. They immediately inquired as to the state of the equipment which earned some rather short tempered responses from Akiko and Ken. There was a brief exchange of unfriendly words between the two men before Akiko forced them to be quiet and just get to work taking out the busted gear. It took nearly an hour, but everything was finally cleaned up and all the bad gear was now in a large trash bin outside the building.

"So, now what?" Keiichi asked.

"I guess we do what we can to start rebuilding the salvaged gear and see if we can't at least get a working sonar going. Godzilla is primarily a marine life form, that much is certain, so if we can at least get some sonar gear back in order then we should still be in business." Ken responded.

"I think we can use that bit there to get started with Ken. Keiichi, do what you can to rescue that monitor. I think we have some spare parts in the back." Akiko said.

"Got it." Keiichi said.

Miki and Sayuri decided to let them work in peace and stepped outside together.

"Miki, do you think those voices are punishing us for not listening to their warning?"

"No, I didn't get that kind of feeling from them. It was more of a plea than a warning, and I don't think that whomever those voices belong to would do this to us." Miki said quietly.

"I guess so. I don't think those voices did it either, but still, someone did and there are no clues about who. Whoever did this clearly knew what they were doing, but why would they try to stop us from studying him? What could they possibly gain?" Sayuri asked.

"Priority." MIki responded.

"What?"

"If we were to take the first clear pictures of Godzilla, get the first recording that wasn't messed up or fuzzy, and maybe even get some clearer audio of what he actually sounds like there is no telling what kind of publicity we'd get. Also, we would likely be contacted by and funded by the government to continue our studies so that they could learn how to deal with him."

"Wow… That's pretty messed up." Sayuri whispered.

"Yes. Yes it is." Miki said.

The two of them stood together for a while longer before being called back inside by Akiko. After a few hours of working they'd managed to restore the sonar to working condition and even salvaged a few sensors to put back in the water. This time, however, they were taking no chances. Ken got to work disguising the sensors to look like rocks which would hide perfectly on the floor of the ocean to protect them hostile eyes. Keiichi decided to set them and made it look like a simple snorkeling dive while Akiko and Ken tested them from a rental car a short distance away. Miki and Sayuri stayed with the RV's and the trashed gear to make sure that the proper authorities came to retrieve them.

The next day, Akiko and Ken picked up a ping on one of the sonar sensors and it was big. The group was called together and they immediately set off to find out what had just happened. When they arrived, they found a boat on the water above their sensors with divers bringing the sensors to the surface. Ken and Akiko were livid, and instantly flagged them down and made them come to shore to talk.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Akiko yelled in the face of the one in charge.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm confiscating this equipment and disposing of it."

"What gives you the right to do that? We have a permit to use this equipment and have every right to use it!" Ken retorted.

"Is that so? Well I see no permit." The man responded with a smile.

Ken brought out the permit and waved it in front of him.

"See? The permit is right here! What do you say to that?!" Ken yelled.

"That piece of paper means nothing to me and for all I know it could be a forgery. We'll have to further investigate this incident and you'd better stay out of our way if you know what's good for you." He said.

Miki took a good long look at the man who was speaking and her eyes widened in shock and anger when she realized who he was. She stomped forward and slapped the man across the face, much to his surprise.

"You piece of garbage!" Miki yelled.

"First you pretend to be a doctor to lure me in to help you and now you're harassing us about legal and legitimate research?! Perhaps I should call the police and see what they have to say about your "investigation?""

The man looked at Miki and started laughing.

"Ah miss Saegusa, lovely to see you again. However, I am sorry to tell you that we have permission by the authorities to investigate your equipment and your activities. Going to them would do absolutely nothing for you."

Miki scowled at him and kicked him in the shin. The man was not expecting the kick and grabbed his shin in pain as he grumbled incoherently under his breath.

"You'd better return our equipment big guy, or we're going to have problems." Ken said as he picked the man up by his lapels and pinned him against the ground.

"You'd best take your hands off me if you don't wish for things to get ugly here Ken." The man said.

Ken was a bit surprised he knew his name, but didn't flinch until he heard the click of guns the man's cohorts were holding. Ken looked up and stared into the barrel of a pistol aimed right in between his eyes.

"Take your hands off me Ken, or you'll make a donation to the landscaping which will be most unpleasant. By the way, you can call me Nolan. It wouldn't do to just have you know me only as the guy who took your stuff now would it?" He said.

Ken let go of him and stood up, glaring at the one with the pistol who glared right back. The man in charge stood up and adjusted his clothing where Ken and messed it up and brushed himself off. It was a classic movie moment to Miki to have these bastards come in out of nowhere and take their stuff and throw them to the wind, but it was about to turn into more of a nightmare.

Sayuri grabbed Miki's hand rather suddenly, and when Miki looked to her friend she saw that her eyes held the same fear they had two months ago when Godzilla entered Sagami Bay. It took a few moments for Miki to pick up on the presence as well, but when she did she looked out towards the water as on of the men on the boat yelled out to Nolan that Godzilla was fast approaching their position. Nolan ordered his men to get the boat to shore and get off to which the eagerly responded, but it didn't seem like it was going to make much of a difference.

The water right under the boat began to churn as it tried to fire up its engines, and as Nolan and Miki's groups looked on the boat was suddenly trapped in place despite it pushing into full throttle as a small wall of water was thrown into the air behind the boat. The boat began creaking and moaning as it was then lifted into the air with the water around it exploding out in all directions. Everyone was forced to grab hold of something against the sudden rush of water which threatened to wash them away. The water hit everyone like a sledge hammer, Miki getting the wind knocked from her chest but managing to keep her grip and keep from being washed away.

The water subsided almost as quickly as it came, and as everyone looked out to where the boat used to be they were all greeted by a most terrifying sight. The boat was floating in the air with a massive lower jaw clenching the bottom of the boat which tapered down and out into a thick and muscular neck. The shoulders were broad and led down to two medium length arms with four claws on each. The chest, stomach and the upper thighs all were visible as well above the water's surface, and as everyone continued watching the boat began to creak and loud snapping noises were heard as the boat was slowly crunched in half in the monster's jaws. The boat fell into two halves into the water below with all the men still on board having either fallen out along the way down or being trapped inside when they hit the water.

Godzilla's skin was a deep charcoal grey with a white tint to the spikes along his back. They started off small along his neck and started increasing in size until they reached a peak near the middle of his lower back and then tapered back down along the length of his back and tail.

Miki looked up from the boat wreckage to Godzilla's face and almost instantly regretted her decision. His mouth was curled into a snarl exposing his massive human sized teeth and his eyes were glazed with ferocity and anger. His eyes were a deep golden coloration with a large black pupil in the middle. The scales and bone structure around the eyes made it appear as if he was constantly angry, which only added to his feral and frightening appearance.

Godzilla looked down at Miki and the others and let out a single growl. The sound was guttural and unlike anything they'd ever heard before which caused everyone to instinctively take a few steps back and away from him. Godzilla began leaning his head back and his head turned towards the skies as he unleashed a powerful roar. The sound was literally ear splitting at such close range, and everyone was instantly brought to their knees as they covered their ears in a desperate attempt to protect their hearing. Several people who didn't cover their ears in time began to bleed from the ears and could no longer hear anything. Thankfully Miki and her group were not among them, but never the less they were stunned by Godzilla's bellowing roar.

When Miki and the group finally came to their senses, they found Godzilla was walking forward towards the shore in their direction. Akiko yelled out at everyone, but the ringing in everyone's ears prevented her from getting through so she had to run around and push everyone to their feet and gesture towards the RV. Everyone seemed to get the message as they all made a mad dash for the RV with Ken throwing himself in the driver's seat and gunning it in the opposite direction. The RV took off with as much speed as Ken could get from it with Godzilla walking close behind and giving everyone the fright of their life. Miki looked back out of one of the windows and watched as Nolan and a bunch of his men were trampled by Godzilla's monstrous feet or caught by his tail as he walked passed them. She didn't exactly feel sorry for them, but she did feel sorry that they met their fate in such a manner.

Godzilla ended up following the RV for over three miles before Ken turned the RV away and Godzilla remained on course and walked passed them. Ken was actually so frightened he thought Godzilla was following them specifically, but when Godzilla made a beeline for a nuclear plant a few miles in the distance, Ken began following him as he stomped through the houses and companies in his way.

"Well, at least we've gotten to see him now." He said.

Akiko slapped him in the back of the head.

"Just keep him in sight. We can't lose this chance." She ordered.

"… Yes dear." He mumbled.


	8. Chapter 8 - Clash Of The Titans?

Godzilla's sudden and unexpected appearance was cause for serious alarm across the nation as the military was mobilized to stop him. Godzilla marched through the Sagami Bay area and made his way northeast towards Tokyo. The military made a few desperate attempts to change his direction, but none of the efforts succeeded. All Godzilla did was shrug off their attacks and continue his march through the Sagami Bay area towards Kamakura. What he was looking for there was anyone's guess, as he'd bypassed the nuclear plant in his way already.

"If he isn't looking for nuclear energy, what is he looking for?" Ken asked.

"Less talking, more driving." Akiko admonished over his shoulder.

Ken sighed in frustration but continued on.

As they drove parallel to Godzilla, Keiichi was hard at work taking photos and video taping the event. He had checked and double checked that Godzilla's radiation hadn't messed up the film as that would be disastrous to what they were trying to do. Miki and Sayuri were sitting together in the back of the RV with Miki comforting Sayuri. For a girl with powerful psychic ability, Sayuri was easily frightened. When she locked into that state, it was hard to get her out of it. Miki was beginning to see however that she responded well to comforting words, so Miki cooed to her and rubbed her back which seemed to have the desired effect. Sayuri shook her head and let out a breath as she gave Miki a hug and watched Godzilla out the window with her.

Upon approach to Kamakura, the military had finished its mobilization and was prepared for Godzilla's advance. The first thing to happen were flares sent up into the air to distract him, and distract him the did. He froze in place and watched each flare fly into the air before roaring at them one by one. As Godzilla stood mesmerized by the flares, the military tanks all took aim and fired at his upper chest just below his neck. Godzilla flinched back a step, but quickly shook it off as he roared in defiance of the military's attacks. The tank lines continued firing upon him in waves, but Godzilla shockingly began marching forward towards them rather than turning away. His aggressiveness was stunning, and his toughness even more so.

"It's as if his hide is made of granite." Keiichi remarked.

The military attacks were not always successful though, as more than one round misfired and sailed passed Godzilla. One round landed in the road ahead of the RV and nearly caused Ken to flip the vehicle. Luckily Ken was a great driver and he avoided flipping the RV while he continued driving parallel to the action a fair distance away.

Godzilla's advance would not slow, and the military resorted to trying to fire another set of flares. This time, however, Godzilla ignored them completely and focused all of his attention on the vehicles firing up at him. The tanks began retreating and an air strike was called in. A team of fighter jets flew down and began dropping UGB's on Godzilla in an attempt to either stop him or at least get him to back off. The bombs fell in front of him, behind him, around him, but none of them seemed to actually hit him until one fighter got lucky and landed one right in Godzilla's chest. There was a loud roar from Godzilla, who stumbled back out of the smoke and violently shook his body in response to what just happened. His head snapped up and he watched the jets circling around back towards him.

Then, something strange happened.

As Miki watched Godzilla, she saw the spines on his back begin to glow. It was an eerie blue light flashing from inside and around the spines as a heatwave like shimmer appeared around the light in the air around him. Godzilla's mouth began to glow with the same color as the air around his head swirled around inwards towards his mouth. As the planes came around towards him, Godzilla reared his head back and took careful aim and let loose a stream of blue energy through the air. The planes were caught completely off guard and the first few couldn't even react to the attack until it was too late. The first three planes were all struck by the spiraling blue blast and exploded the instant it made contact as the rest of the planes scattered.

The energy unleashed by the attack was incredible, and the concussive blast of air released during the initial phase of the attack struck the RV even while it drove almost a half mile away. Everyone inside felt a small blast of pressure hit them inside the RV and they couldn't help but just stare. Ken was also mesmerized by what had happened and had taken his eyes off the road just a little too long. The RV struck the sidewalk and jumped before Ken was snapped back into reality and regained control of the wheel. As he straightened out he pulled the RV over so that they could all just watch and record what was going on with Keiichi leaning a little too far out the window for his own good and Akiko taking too much interest in the door leading outside. Ken stopped Akiko from leaving the RV and convinced her instead to take a second camera and record the event with Keiichi.

Godzilla, in the meantime, had finished blasting the remaining planes from the sky and was once again marching on the retreating tanks. The tanks continued firing on him as he advanced upon them, but it seemed they had a plan going as they lured him to a river system nearby. As Godzilla approached the river he slowed his advance and looked at the water with suspicion. Miki took notice of it and told Akiko who immediately jotted it down in a small notepad she had lying on the table. Godzilla looked back to the tanks as they continued to retreat across the river and started advancing again. His first three steps into the water were as normal as could be, but his fourth step saw a huge explosion of water and earth underneath him erupt into the sky. Godzilla stumbled back and fell down causing a massive tremor which violently shook the RV and everyone inside it. Akiko and Ken did what they could to keep what remained of their equipment safe while everyone else kept an eye on Godzilla.

Miki watched with sadness in her eyes as Godzilla struggled to right himself. He tried rolling onto his side, but his enormous bulk made it difficult to maneuver himself when he was not standing upright. The entire time he was trying to stand up he was being bombarded by the military's tanks, mortars, and another air strike was called in as well. Bombs were dropped onto Godzilla once again from several waves of planes which only further impeded his ability to get up. Each explosion shook and altered the ground beneath him which essentially reset his efforts and he had to find a new point of balance and grip to be able to move.

Finally, he made it onto his side and forced himself onto his stomach. He pushed his body up and managed to get his right leg underneath himself and forced himself to stand despite the continuing fire from tanks and mortars. As he stood up he began charging that beam attack again, and once he was fully upright he spun around with great speed and unleashed a blast with even more power than those he'd used on the planes. The concussive blast released from this attack actually shook the RV to the point where it tipped onto the side of its wheels and threatened to fall onto its side. Luckily for the group, it didn't, but it was a little too close for comfort.

The rows of tanks and mortar stations were decimated and the surrounding buildings were vaporized by the attack as Godzilla continued his assault twice more until the firing stopped. He looked into the air at the planes which had bombed him on the ground and they were already flying away. In what seemed to Miki as a desire to make a point, Godzilla charged one last attack and let it fly. The beam sailed through the air straight and true and struck down two final planes before Godzilla let loose with a roar of triumph towards the skies as he then continued his march towards the heart of Kamakura. Ken and the others all kept a close eye on him as he made his way towards the city, and upon his official arrival Ken parked the RV on the top floor of a parking garage and had everyone get out to watch as Godzilla made his way towards the center of town.

Keiichi set up his cameras while Akiko and Ken set up their own as well as a few other gadgets which Miki hadn't seen them use before. Miki and Sayuri both stood by the edge and gazed out over the city as they watched Godzilla come to a stop about a mile away. Even at that distance he was easily visible over the buildings surrounding him. Miki and Sayuri both stood together and watched as he started to search the surrounding area for something they couldn't see.

"Seismic activity has been detected Akiko." Ken warned.

"How much?" She asked.

"A lot. I think something big is tunneling underground." He responded.

Akiko looked out over the city and noticed that Godzilla's gaze seemed to be following something. She still couldn't see anything like a dust trail or anything like that, but Godzilla could see something. Miki and Sayuri both seemed to be sensing something as well as they had both gotten closer to each other and were holding hands as they watched Godzilla in silence. Akiko didn't want to disturb them just in case they were in the middle of doing something with their psychic abilities, so instead she focused on trying to use what little equipment she still had to figure out what it was that was setting off her seismic equipment.

The group didn't have long to wait though as at last a dust trail began to form. It looked like a small plume from the roof of the garage and from how far away they are, but everyone knew that the plume of dust was over one hundred feet high. It rose up to about the upper quarter of Godzilla's thigh, and they all knew that he was somewhere in the neighborhood of 90-120 meters tall depending on his stance and how straight his back was at any given time. The trail circled around Godzilla about three times before it stopped and disappeared. Godzilla also seemed to have lost track of his target as well, as he was now looking around in confusion.

"What's happening?" Akiko asked.

"I don't know. Just keep watching." Ken said half distractedly.

Miki and Sayuri both looked to each other and looked back to Godzilla. Miki gulped and gripped Sayuri's hand just a little bit tighter. The two girls could both sense the animosity between Godzilla and his unseen quarry and it was something they were thankful they didn't have to be on the receiving end of from either of the two monsters.

Godzilla hunched down a little bit by bending his knees and seemed to be smelling the air as he continued to turn slowly in an effort to find the other creature. As he searched, it kept appearing as if he saw something with the way his head snapped to one area, but always he could continue searching. second after second, minute after minute, time ticked by and still the other monster did not make an appearance. The entire group was practically going insane with anticipation, not that they wanted to see a monster battle that would level the city, but still. Akiko was pacing, Ken was starting to bite his lip, Keiichi was starting to swear under his breath, and Miki and Sayuri were starting to get dry throats as their stress and anxiety began to mount.

Finally, Godzilla stood up straight and turned away from the city towards the ocean and started walking away. Every house underfoot was crushed under the weight of his body and anything in the way of his feet were kicked up and away as if they weren't even there. Akiko and Ken gathered the equipment and gathered everyone back inside the RV to follow Godzilla as he headed back towards the ocean.

"Anybody have anything for me on what happened to the other monster?" Akiko asked.

"Not unless the girls managed to pick something up before Godzilla started leaving." Ken responded.

Akiko looked to Miki and Sayuri who both shook their heads quietly in response to the unspoken question.

"Damn!" Akiko exclaimed.

Ken nodded his head as he kept one eye on Godzilla and the other on the road.

"Well if Godzilla was getting ready for a fight and then just left, I think his would-be opponent did too." Keiichi said as he started hooking up his camera to his laptop to try and upload his photos and recordings.

"I guess that makes sense. Godzilla doesn't strike me as the type to run from a fight, but if he has no opponent then why would he stay?" Akiko said to herself.

"Exactly." Keiichi said.

"But where did his opponent go then? If we saw the seismic activity and then those plumes of dust, where did his opponent go? Surely we would have seen a different trail of dust and seismic activity, but I was watching them the whole time and nothing happened once the dust settled. It's as if his opponent either stopped moving or disappeared completely. I doubt the latter is true though." Ken added.

Akiko nodded in frustration and released a frustrated groan as she ran her hand through her hair and looked out the window at Godzilla.

"C'mon big guy. Give me something to work with." She pleaded.


	9. Chapter 9 - Clash Of The Titans!

It had been three days since Godzilla last appeared and fought off the Japanese military before returning to the sea when another monster burrowing under the surface of the Earth failed to make a stand against him. Since then Akiko and Ken and been hard at work rebuilding their equipment and getting ready for the next encounter. Now that they'd photographed and filmed Godzilla, they intended to make sure that they were prepared for his next steps on land since Nolan was no longer around to get in their way.

The group set out once more at 4am on May 7th, 2014 to set up sensors along the coastlines in Tokyo Bay, Tateyama, Ito, Shimoda, and Kamogawa. They had just enough to place one every ten miles so that their ranges were just barely touching along the stretch of coastline nearest to Tokyo as Godzilla seemed to have a thing for that area. They finished setting up their sensors and preparing for Godzilla's next outing when they heard on the news that he'd been spotted all the way down the coast in Kagoshima. The team was not prepared for an outing such as that, so they had no choice but to simply listen to the news and hope for the best.

All the while, Miki spent time with Sayuri practicing their mental abilities and trying to find a way to combine and enhance them by working together. It was slow going, but the two of them had managed to figure out a way to extend the reach of their ability to sense the presence of other living things. It was untested on Godzilla, but at the very least they'd help act as an early warning system so that next time he wouldn't appear right on top of the group. The sonar would likely be the best way to locate him, but when the crew went out on trips away from the Tokyo area the girls abilities could act as wonderful replacements for those sensors which were destroyed and unsalvageable.

The team waited for another two weeks before Godzilla was once again sighted in close proximity to Tokyo. The latest news on the early afternoon of May 23rd said Godzilla was sighted off the island of Miyake, which meant that he'd likely make landfall somewhere in their sonar range within the next few hours. The team packed up as quickly as they could and got into the RV to wait for the first ping on their sonar that they could detect. They only had to wait about forty five minutes for a large blip on the radar just outside Tateyama went off. They watched for a minute and saw that it was heading directly for the mouth of the Uraga channel leading into Tokyo Bay.

The crew sped off to find the nearest point that they could reach which was not blocked off by military road blocks which was much harder than they had anticipated. However, they managed to find a gap in the road blocks which led them directly into Tokyo where the sensors they placed in the bay were going off like crazy. They parked the RV a few miles north of Haneda airport where they found their way to the top of a nearby building and set up their cameras as they prepared for Godzilla's arrival. When they were all set up Miki and Sayuri linked hands and concentrated on the presence they felt arriving in the Bay.

"… Something's wrong." Miki said.

Akiko walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What do you mean Miki?" She asked.

"We can't connect with him." Miki and Sayuri responded in unison.

Ken looked out at the bay, which was still and unmoving as the sun went down.

"Well that's not good news at all." He muttered.

Akiko shot him a glare and then looked back to Miki.

"Please try to connect with him. If you can't, at least try to get a fix on his exactly location. For some reason our sonar sensors are giving slightly conflicting reports."

"Don't look at me. I only set them in the water." Keiichi called out.

"Keiichi, we aren't blaming you so just sit tight." Akiko called back.

"Alright, just making sure." He responded.

Everyone took a moment to watch the water as Miki and Sayuri closed their eyes to concentrate on the Bay and where Godzilla was. The two girls extended their senses out towards the water and waited, listening for a response. Then, they understood what was going on as they both opened their eyes and looked out towards the Funabashi District. Akiko, Ken and Keiichi all looked that direction as well to get a better understanding of what was going on, but without the same abilities they were left in the dark as to what was going on. However, unsure of whether to call it lucky or unlucky, they all looked up in the sky and noticed several objects flying at high speeds towards the bay.

"… Those are missiles!" Ken yelled out.

"Everybody find cover!" Akiko yelled as they all ducked behind the barrier on the edge of the building roof.

There wasn't much to use as cover on the top of the building, and when the missiles entered the water and exploded there was a very large wave of pressure which cracked the edges of the building they were on and outright destroyed most of those closest to the blast zone. Their RV was thrown back several dozen yards end over end which meant that they'd lost their ride and it was likely whatever equipment was still inside had been damaged.

"That'll take some more repair work!" Keiichi yelled out.

"This is no time for your smart ass remarks Keiichi!" Akiko yelled back as the wave of air subsided.

They all started to stand up, but they were rained on by the water which was thrown up during the blast. It was nothing horrible, but it was distracting. Another missile was incoming fast, but through the churning and disturbed waters of Tokyo Bay, a blue light began shining through. Everyone knew what was coming, and sure enough a blue beam shot forth from out of the water into the air and destroyed the missile before it could reach its target. There was a silent breath of relief from everyone about that, but their enthusiasm quickly turned to concern when they realized that those missiles had been tracking another target… A much larger target.

Through the darkness of the skies above Tokyo, the group was absolutely horrified at what came out of the distance. A massive three headed dragon emerged from the haze created by the water vapor from the explosion in the bay and flew over Godzilla's underwater position. The creature was absolutely tremendous, even more so than Godzilla, with gleaming golden scales and two long whip-like tails trailing behind it. The creature's cry was very distinct, carrying with it a high rising pitch before dropping down into a more guttural growl. The creature seemed completely unfazed and unafraid of either the missiles trailing it or Godzilla beneath it in the water as it circled overhead.

Two missiles connected with the might dragon, but it brushed them off after a quick adjustment to its flight path while the others were destroyed with an attack which looked like it was shooting golden lightning from its mouth. The goliath circled overhead and looked down into the water, crying and roaring at it as if it expected Godzilla to come out and face it, and face it he did. With a single thunderous explosion of power, Godzilla burst out of the water and unleashed his beam attack on the creature. The attack hit the golden dragon directly in the chest and greatly disturbed its flight path which forced it to land. The impact of its weight hitting the ground caused a tremor which made the one produced by Godzilla falling down last time seem like a joke. The entire building the group stood on was shaken so much that they all lost their balance and fell down, only being able to stand when the tremor subsided which took over two full agonizing seconds.

When the creature corrected itself, it glared at Godzilla with all three of its devilish heads while Godzilla himself waded through the water towards shore.

"Get off this roof! It's not safe here anymore!" Ken called out.

"We can't just leave!" Akiko demanded.

"We have to! Grab the gear and let's get off this building. It's becoming unstable!" Ken ordered.

Akiko finally relented and they all gathered the equipment and got the hell off the roof as Godzilla finally made it to shore and got his feet on solid ground without water to slow him down. The massive dragon seemed to wait for him almost as if it enjoyed watching him step forward to challenge it. Miki and Sayuri could both feel a strange sense of yearning in the creature as it watched Godzilla approach, and they both figured it meant that it really wanted a piece of him. If its size compared to Godzilla was any indication, it could possibly take a piece and then some. Godzilla was roughly 100 meters tall, give or take depending on his stance, but this dragon was easily 140-150 depending on the angle of its heads at the end of the necks. It made Godzilla look small despite his own impressive size, and everyone couldn't help but shake their heads in awe and concern as Godzilla bravely made his way to the dragon's location.

"Good luck big guy. You're gonna need it." Keiichi said.

"Let's go!" Ken yelled.

Godzilla marched towards the dragon who began blasting him in the chest and legs with its lightning blasts. At first Godzilla seemed to be stopped in his tracks, but after a few blasts Godzilla seemed to get used to them and just walked right through them towards the dragon. When Godzilla felt close enough he began charging his own attack and leaned forward to prepare for the assault. The dragon, however, knew exactly what was coming and gave itself a new target. The dragon took aim and blasted Godzilla in the face. One of the bolts struck Godzilla directly in his left eye causing the monster to stop his attack and reel in terrible pain. Godzilla turned away from the creature and bent down, trying to cover and protect his wounded eye as the dragon began blasting him in the back, knocking him to the ground.

The dragon took off into the air and flew three circles around Godzilla before dropping down on top of him. With its two powerful legs, the dragon landed on Godzilla's shoulders and hips and began to jump up an down on top of him in an attempt to stomp him into submission. Godzilla could do nothing against the attack as preoccupied as he was by the pain in his eye, and he began crying out in agony with high pitched roars each time the dragon fell on him.

"Damn thing!" Akiko growled.

"Godzilla won't last much longer if we can't stop that thing." Ken remarked.

Miki and Sayuri held hands and watched with great sadness as Godzilla was beaten down by this great beast.

"Wait, look up there!" Keiichi yelled out.

Everyone looked up into the sky and saw more missiles approaching the battlegrounds.

"Get behind something!" Ken called out.

Everyone ducked behind cover or dove into the first open building they saw as they waited for the missiles to make contact. One of the dragons three heads looked backwards and blasted the first missile out of the sky, but the other missiles all made contact against the dragon's body as it lost its balance atop Godzilla and fell to the ground next to him. Like before, a massive tremor shook the ground adding to the chaos which the pressure wave from the explosions had created just moments before. When the tremors stopped and everyone could feel the attack was over, they all gathered outside in the street to see what had happened.

There was a giant wall of dust surrounding the area where the monsters were fighting, but there was definitely activity inside it as well. Godzilla's roars had returned to normal as it resounded throughout the city.

"Miki, can you tell what's going on in there?" Akiko asked.

Miki closed her eyes and concentrated hard on the area ahead and on Godzilla, and after a few moments she opened her eyes.

"Godzilla's attacking it." She said.

"So he's okay?" Ken asked.

Miki shook her head.

"He's fighting through the pain." She said quietly.

An explosion rang out through the air and everyone's attention was drawn to the giant cloud of dust where a gust of wind or something like it from inside began to push the dust away. As it cleared, Godzilla was on his feet and using his tail to batter the dragon as it reeled on the ground from the missiles. Once, twice, three times, four times. Godzilla was relentless as he bashed it again and again before finally turning around to face the dragon as it struggled to right itself. It had no arms which made it very difficult to get up off the ground, but it managed to use one of its wings to push Godzilla away. The tactic did little to save it though as Godzilla quickly regained his balance and remained at a distance away as the dragon continued to try and stand up.

Godzilla's spines began to glow and the air around his head began to twist and turn as he charged his attack. The dragon was finally able to use its bottom wing to push itself over onto its stomach, but that was as far as it got. Godzilla unleashed his attack directly into the Dragon's back, the force of the attack pushing it and rolling it along the ground and into the waters of Tokyo Bay a good seven hundred meters away. Godzilla roared to the skies and aggressively shook his head and stomped one of his feet into the ground, but his victory was short lived. The dragon stood up from the water and managed to blast Godzilla in the face once again. This time it didn't strike him in the eyes, but never the less it was a very painful experience which put Godzilla once again on the defensive.

The dragon took the opportunity to flap its wings a few times and leap into the air to start flying away. Godzilla took a few more seconds to shake off the attack, but by the time he had the dragon was a good distance away in the sky and disappearing fast into the horizon. Godzilla watched it flee and roared after it, but the dragon did not turn to face him again. Godzilla watched until he was sure it was gone and then turned towards Tokyo Bay.

Miki was horrified by what she saw.

Godzilla's left eyes was closed, but beneath the eye lid he was bleeding profusely. Blood ran down Godzilla's cheek and fell to the ground at his feet as he lumbered away into the water and disappeared beneath the surface. The crew made no attempt to follow him, as they all seemed to feel the pain he was in and decided to give him his space. Akiko rounded everyone up when he had disappeared from sonar range and had them all restart trekking back towards their flipped RV. When they got to it, it was in good shape and there was no leaking oil or gas which was a good sign. Everyone got on one side and tried to right it, but it was just too heavy for only five people.

To make matters worse, they were then approached by military vehicles. They were apprehended and questioned about what they were doing inside a war zone, to which they responded with the simple truth that they were here to document Godzilla's behavior and study him. The military officers exchanged a few words and called in to their superiors before being told to let them go. They helped the crew right the RV and took off, obviously being called in to take care of more important matters than a few researchers who happened to be where they weren't supposed to be. Once that was taken care of Ken got to work checking the engine which miraculously fired up when hey turned the ignition. Everyone got on board and they headed back home where they poured over the data they found and studied the footage of the battle which they had managed to preserve. The blast from one of the missiles had damaged one of the cameras and its film was now destroyed and useless.

For two days they studied what they had found, and they made a few discoveries along the way not only about Godzilla, but about that dragon as well.


	10. Chapter 10 - Recovered Already!

Godzilla's fight with the three headed dragon played on the screen over and over again as Akiko's eyes remained glued to it while she analyzed his movements, vocalizations, posture and more. Every movement Godzilla made that was visible on screen was very carefully examined by Akiko for several hours while the others went about trying to gather data from the rest of the equipment.

"Hey Ken, check this out." Keiichi said.

Ken walked over and leaned over Keiichi's shoulder to see what he was talking about.

"See here?"Keiichi asked as he pointed towards the screen playing the images of the fight.

"When Godzilla charges his attack, the thermal camera goes nuts along those spines and around his mouth. Whatever that beam is, it's generating a lot of heat." He remarked.

"That would explain the incendiary properties it had when it made contact with buildings and such when he attacked the military." Ken added.

"Yeah, and also I managed to find out from a friend that the areas where Godzilla used his beam attack averaged nearly 25% more radioactivity than areas where he didn't use it."

"So that means… What?" Ken asked.

"I thought that it was blue fire at first, but I think that it's more like concentrated radiation. It would explain the excess radiation in the areas where he's used the attack, but it also explains the incendiary properties as well because to be "radioactive" means that the atoms are unstable and giving off excess energy in an attempt to balance themselves. If this is the case with Godzilla, then I believe what he's doing is forcing the energy he's gathering in his mouth to become unstable while he focuses it into a tight beam which he can use as a weapon. I still don't know what the source of this ability is, but if we can get him on film doing it a few more times I might get an idea."

Ken was a bit confused, but impressed.

"That's quite the weapon." He said quietly.

Keiichi nodded.

"Yeah, it is." He agreed.

Miki sat nearby in a chair as she rested her head in her hands. She hadn't gotten much sleep since Godzilla's fight with the dragon a few days ago and was worried about his eye and any potential side effects that dragon's attack may have had on him. Sayuri was similarly worried about Godzilla, but she had managed to focus forward and was helping clean up the RV outside while everyone else worked on something inside their main base of operations. It was a portable building which they'd purchased a few years back before Miki joined up, but they removed the wheels to make sure it stayed put.

As Akiko poured over the footage from the fight she took notice of a strange detail which she hadn't noticed before while watching Godzilla and the dragon tussle just before the dust surrounded them when the dragon fell down. When the dragon first appeared it was struck by two missiles and it barely flinched, but when it was jumping on Godzilla it was struck by two or three missiles and it was knocked to the ground and seemed to actually be hurt.

"… So what changed?" She asked.

Akiko rewound the film to the dragon's initial appearance when it was hit in the sky and watched it very carefully as it was struck by the missiles and brushed them off to continue flying circles about Godzilla. She rewound and watched it again, and again, and again. As she watched it for the fourth or fifth time she noticed something very subtle, but never the less very important. The dragon knew the missiles were coming and she saw its musculature flex just before the missiles struck its body. When it did so, the all three heads were watching the missiles approach. Having three, she thought that they all held the same intelligence and controlled the body in unison, but as she went forward and watched it jump on Godzilla and get stuck in the back, the only head which knew the missiles were coming was the one on the right. There was no flexing of its musculature when the missiles hit, and she noticed a fairly good amount of pain present in its faces as it went down.

"So that's it." She said quietly.

"What?" Ken asked as he walked over.

"Look here." She said.

She rewound the picture to the first missile impact against the dragon in the sky and then went to the impact against its back when it was jumping on Godzilla.

"Notice the difference?" She asked.

Ken shook his head.

"Not really." He said.

"Ugh, you're supposed to be an animal behavior expert and biology specialist. Take a good look at the dragon's heads and the details of the body between the first and second impacts." She said as she got out of the chair and let him sit down to watch.

He watched the footage a few times through and took note of the flexing in the first one, but didn't really see what else Akiko apparently did.

"I still don't see anything of significance Akiko. What's your point?" He asked.

"Ken, the dragon's heads don't work in unison. They're individuals." She said.

Ken shrugged his shoulders.

"And that means what to us?" He asked.

Akiko sighed in frustration and took over the controls of the film.

"Ken, if the dragons heads don't work in unison and that means that one head is not enough for the dragon to properly protect itself. It's why the missiles in the first impact didn't hurt it, because all three heads knew they were coming. When they hit the second time, only the one head saw them while the other two were focused on Godzilla. Split its focus and you split its defenses."

Ken's eyes lit up as he suddenly realized what that could mean.

"Now do you see Ken? If that dragon has a priority target like Godzilla to worry about then it'll be much easier for the military to successfully attack it."

"Wait a minute, you want to tell the military about this?" Ken asked.

"Why shouldn't we?"

"Akiko, I know that dragon isn't exactly on our good side after what it did to Godzilla but we can't just tell the government what its weakness is. How will we study it?" He asked.

"Ken, that dragon is much too dangerous to be left alive. I know you want to study it, but what point is there in studying something that will attack anything it sees? Godzilla at least seems to be content to leave humanity alone when they leave him alone, but this dragon is an entirely different beast."

"Akiko, what do we know about the dragon? We can't confirm that it attacks everything in sight indiscriminately just because it attacked Godzilla. It flew in from the distance and landed to wait for Godzilla to get out of the water before they started fighting. It clearly is a creature of intelligence, so we should wait for now until we know more about it. Where did it come from? What has it done since it arrived? Where has it been? We need more information Akiko, and you know it."

Akiko groaned in frustration and put her hands on her hips and she walked away to sit down.

Ken shook his head.

"Are you two really engaged?" Keiichi asked.

Akiko shot him a glare and growled at him while Ken chuckled to himself.

Miki, in the meantime, had fallen asleep. Sayuri entered the building a few moments later and walked over to Miki while putting her jacket over her like a blanket.

"Hey, the RV's all fixed up. We can load the equipment whenever you're ready." She told Akiko.

"First sensible thing I've heard all night." Akiko remarked.

Ken shook his head again as he shut off the cameras and got to work helping load the RV. The rest of the crew pitched in as well while doing so quietly to let Miki sleep. Once the RV was loaded up Keiichi picked up Miki and carried her inside and placed her on the closest thing to a bed they had which was a small couch. Once everything and everyone was ready to go, Ken fired up the RV and they got rolling along. They had heard from one of Ken's friends recently about a collaborative effort to locate Godzilla. Now that he was injured, his behavior was sure to change and that was what they were after.

After spending most of the day on the road the crew arrived in the city of Nagoya where they stopped to fill up on gas and rest their eyes until Ken's friend arrived. His name was Akio Shiragami, and he was a freelance investigator who had claimed he knew where Godzilla had lumbered off to after his fight with the three headed dragon. While Akio was skeptical, she welcomed the chance to find out where he was so that they could check on Godzilla's eye and document his behavior.

The next morning the crew moved southward into Tokai where they finally met up with Akio. He was young, and despite his Japanese name he was actually caucasian born and raised in the United States of America. He was perfectly fluent in Japanese and American English, so he and Keiichi enjoyed a few minutes of jabbering in english before he spoke to Ken and the others. He gave Ken a flash drive which held his findings and took his leave. Akiko was a bit suspicious of the sudden arrival and departure, but when they looked at Akio's data they found it quite convincing.

The only problem… He was on the bottom of the ocean.

"Of course he is." Ken muttered.

"At least we have the general location. I have a friend who does undersea research and I think I can convince him to lend us a sub to use for a day." Keiichi said.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Akiko asked.

"Uhh." Keiichi responded.

"Never mind, here. Just call him and get us that sub." Akiko said as she held out her cell phone to him.

Keiichi took the phone and called his friend who agreed to lend the crew a sub on the condition that he also accompany them which meant that only two members of the crew could go down. When Keiichi told everyone the news, they all agreed that Ken and Miki would go as they needed at least one of their psychics to try and connect with Godzilla to make sure he didn't attack the sub. The crew spent the next day on the road going back to Tokyo to meet up with Keiichi's friend. When they did, they spent the night at the docks on his private boat and loaded up the sub the next morning. Ken and Miki crawled into the sub with only a camera and Miki's abilities as they set off to the coordinates given in Akio's data.

The sub traveled under the water for several hours before reaching their destination, and when they arrived, Ken was delighted to see that the information was accurate. Godzilla was laying down on the ocean floor on his stomach with his front arms tucked at his sides. His chin was resting on the ground and both eyes were closed. Godzilla's tail was straight out behind him save for a small curve near the end.

"Alright, take us in a bit closer. I need a closer look at his left eye." Ken said quietly.

"Got it." Keiichi's friend Ueda responded.

The sub moved in a bit closer as per Ken's request and slid around to the side to get a better frontal view of Godzilla's face. The sub turned on its lights and shone them across the ground first to avoid shining them into his eyes and risking waking him up. As the lights got closer, Miki and Ken looked very carefully at Godzilla's face and found it clear. His left eye looked completely normal when they compared it to his right eye, and both of them were amazed that there wasn't even any swelling or anything. The camera rolled and Ken documented an entire circle around Godzilla's body from head to toe before coming back to his face and shining the lights across his eyes.

Godzilla stirred, his eye ridges dropping a little as he shifted his head away from the light. The lights went across his eyes one more time, and again he shifted away from them.

"Okay, once more." Ken said.

The lights went across Godzilla's eyes one more time and finally they slid open. As they opened, Ken and Miki cold see that they were both clear and devoid of even the slightest traces of damage. However, Godzilla was none too pleased about being woken up. He let out a roar which shook the sub. Godzilla made no effort to get up or chase the sub, but he had made his point and the sub turned off its lights and backed away as he laid his head back down and closed his eyes once more. The whole thing was caught on tape and Ken was ecstatic.

"Alright, I think I've seen enough now. Let's get back to the surface." Ken said.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Ueda said.

The sub returned to the surface and Ken showed everyone the footage they had gotten. Akiko practically jumped out of her skin from excitement and jumped onto Ken's back while praising his work with the camera. Everyone got a good laugh out of it, but they had a job to do and so they all got back in the RV and headed back to Tokyo. When they got back, they all watched the footage together as a group. Everyone was amazed that Godzilla's eye was clear and healed despite it being only a few days since his fight. Godzilla's resilience and his healing ability were jotted down and Akiko was absolutely elated to the point where she literally jumped for joy around the portable.

Akiko's joyous celebration was shared more silently by the others who smiled and watched as she excitedly moved about the portable talking to herself about the possibilities the new footage presented their team and about how happy she was with Ken's work. Ken and Keiichi watched the footage and both of them took interest in the fact that Godzilla gave a warning first and didn't just blast the sub. While Ken was not questioning Godzilla's actions by any means, he was curious as to why such a beast as Godzilla, who's primary experience with humans was negative, would spare the sub for disturbing him. It would have been easy enough to destroy it, so why didn't he?

Ken had no answers yet, but he felt that they were getting closer to finding out what made him tick as he looked over at Miki.


	11. Chapter 11 - Conflict and a Warning

"Ken, I just got a call from an old friend of mine in Kitami! There have been some really strange seismic activities there over the last several hours, and I think it might be the same monster which tunneled under Godzilla but never surfaced." Akiko called out.

"How are we supposed to get there Akiko?" He asked.

"We don't have to, she's a photography major and she agreed to take as many photos as she could and film it if possible when and if the monster shows up. She's getting in contact with a friend of hers who's an expert field tracker who's agreed to take her out to the Sounkyo Gorge where the occurrences have been most frequent."

"Well alright then, what do we do?"

"Nothing. Just sit tight and wait I guess unless you want to work on getting us some plane tickets." She joked.

Ken scoffed and went back to work writing a report on their last encounter with Godzilla under the seas while Akiko got back on the phone with her friend and wished her luck.

"Thanks Akiko, I'll do my best." She said as she hung up the phone.

A few minutes of gathering up her cameras, checking the lenses and other equipment she had with her, and she was out the door of her apartment and on her way to meet her friend Takayuki Kitagawa. She took the bus down to the edge of the city where Takayuki was waiting for her.

"Hello Hana. Ready to head out?" He asked.

"Always. Let's go film us a monster!" She cheered.

They got in the car and took off towards Sounkyo Gorge, and along the way they spoke about several things. They spoke about Takayuki's equipment and how to read it, Hana's gear and possible positions for her to film from and how to reach them, school and work just to pass the time. As they entered the gorge they pulled the car over off the road and began a half day hiking trip. The trip took them up the north eastern face of Mt. Daisetsu where they found Hana a near perfect perch to set up her photographic equipment while Takayuki checked his seismic gear to see if the underground monster had been active lately.

The two kept in contact via walkie talkies, but the rest of the day saw no new action.

As morning crept up on them with the sun peeking over the horizon Takayuki was woken up by the sound of his seismic alerts going off. He instantly got on the walkie to Hana to wake her up and make sure she was ready. Hana woke slowly as she was not a morning riser, but thankfully the news of the seismic readings was enough to wake her up and help shake off the sleepiness. She got her camera ready and made sure that her other gear was ready to record as Takayuki kept an eye on the seismic gear. The readings went silent after a moment, and there wasn't any dust trails or anything to lead them to believe the monster was moving around anymore, so they relaxed and tried to wake up a bit more.

As the day wore on the two kept a careful eye on the gorge as the seismic readings came and went, but not as actively as they had first thing in the morning. Hana received a call from Akiko asking if anything had happened, to which she painfully responded "no." When she set the phone down her walkie went off.

"Hana, we've got some serious activity going on out there just off to the northwest. Can you see anything from there?" Takayuki asked.

Hana looked up and out at the gorge, but she couldn't see anything. She decided to climb a lone tree which sat up in her perch to see if she couldn't get a bead on anything out there, and when she was about fifteen feet up she saw the makings of a very large dust trail beginning to rise up from the ground beneath the trees which littered the floor of the gorge.

"There's a dust cloud gathering out there. What do you think is going on?" She asked.

Takayuki didn't have time to answer though, as the dust cloud started moving southeast along the gorge into their field of view. Hana got down out of the tree and started recording as the dust trail settled in the middle of the gorge. It was almost too convenient that it stopped there, but Hana wasn't about to second guess her luck or the opportunity the monster was presenting her with.

Just then, her walkie kicked on again.

"Hana, don't look now but there's a giant moth approaching from the south east." He warned.

Hana was not a fan of insects, and as she looked southeast she saw the giant moth approaching just as Takayuki had told her. It was beautiful, but Hana was still frozen for a few seconds before getting a grip on herself as it began overing a few hundred yards away from where the dust had settled. The moth floated there for a few moments before beginning to cry out, seemingly trying to communicate with the monster underground. There was no sound coming back, but there were a few rumbles from underground throughout the moth's cries. Hana was hard at work recording and taking photos as this continued for several minutes before the moth began to become aggressive.

Without warning the moth's antennae began to glow and it fired a reddish orange beam from each one into the ground where the dust had settled. The beam struck the ground with great force causing a small tremor which nearly knocked over one of Hana's cameras. She managed to catch it and put it in a more stable position before returning her gaze to the gorge where the moth fired another bream into the ground. There was a very long rumble from the gorge before the ground exploded and sent dust and debris flying into the air for several hundred feet in every direction. Hana and Takayuki took cover temporarily as the debris and dust went away and the air began to clear up.

As they watched the gorge they managed to make out a very large and bulky form taking shape inside the dust. The moth was still floating in the air and letting out the occasional cry as it waited for the monster to respond to it. There was silence for a good long time until the dust settled to the point where they could all finally see what was sitting in the gorge beneath the moth. It was immense and had to be heavier than Godzilla with how thick its lower body and tail were. The creature's body was a deep brown coloration with short spikes all along its gail. Its flesh was thick and armored with a lighter brown underneath on its belly. Its lower jaw was something of a square shape with one large tooth on each corner while its upper jaw was in the shape of a bird beak with a spike rising up at the top of its nose as well. Obviously if this creature ever bit something it would completely skewer it, and if it ever tried to ram anyone with its head all it had to do was angle its head down and it could impale its foes. All in all, it was quite the formidable beast.

The new creature stared up at the moth and uttered a deep, guttural bellowing sound up at it as the moth cried back at it and started flapping its wings a bit faster. Hana guessed it meant the moth was agitated, but she was no expert on animal or insect behavior so she didn't want to make any assumptions. It didn't seem she was very far off though as the moth used its beam attack again at the creature which made it roar in anger and retaliate by firing off a blast of purple lightning from the horn on its beak. The lightning struck the moth who reeled back from the attack and backed off to gain some distance before circling around and trying to attack it again. The creature retreated underground as the moth came back around, but the moth was not having it. The moth fired its beams ahead of where the monster had been heading and caved in the ground which had already been disturbed which forced it to come back to the surface again. As the monster turned around the moth flew in close and blasted the creature at point blank range in the side of the head.

The monster fell over to the ground and flailed about for a minute before righting itself and taking aim to hit the moth with its lightning attack again. The moth, however, knew it was coming and banked hard to the side as the lightning flew passed it and through the air. The moth then flew in close as the monster let loose another blast of lightning, but the moth had a new strategy to use as it began hovering in place while flapping its wings at the creature as the lightning reached it. As the moth flapped its wings a small cloud of yellow spores began forming in front of it which trapped and redirected the blast of lightning back at the creature causing it to roar out in pain. The moth then fired its beams into the cloud which also suddenly redirected it and fired it at the creature which then fell to its side and continued roaring in pain and tried to escape. The moth was relentless though as it continued firing its beams at the creature for almost two solid minutes before it stopped and started backing away.

The creature on the ground stumbled to its feet and shook itself off as it dove into one of the holes it had dug earlier and disappeared into the ground again. This time, however, the moth did not pursue it. Instead, the moth simply floated there for a few minutes before it turned towards Hana and Takayuki. The moth slowly approached their position and hovered in the air a couple hundred yards away.

"… Is that thing looking at us?" Hana asked on the walkie.

"I don't know, but I'm getting a very strange feeling from all of this." Takayuki responded.

_You are friends of Akiko Nakazawa, Ken Inouye, Miki Saegusa, Keiichi Ueda and Sayuri Okumura, correct? _A pair of voices suddenly asked.

"… Did you say something Hana?" Takayuki asked.

"No, I didn't." She responded.

_We are the Shobijin of Mothra. We speak for her to you now through the power of telepathy. Please answer our question._

"…. Yes, I am familiar with those people." Hana answered.

_Please send a message to the one known as Miki Saegusa. She must avoid further contact with Godzilla at all costs._

"What? But why?" Hana asked.

_Please. Miki Saegusa's life is in great danger. If she continues using her abilities to connect with Godzilla she and her friends could face tragic consequences. We do not wish for this to occur, so please deliver our message to her._

With that, the moth began rising into the sky and flew away. Hana tried calling out, but the moth was already long gone. She sat there questioning what had happened for a minute before Takayuki called out to her on the walkie to meet back up with him and head back. No that they had their photos and recordings, it was time to head back to civilization. Hana gathered her equipment and met back up with Takayuki before packing it up and making their way back to the car and driving back to Kitami. Once they arrived back in civilization Hana poured over her photos and the footage she had acquired before making digital copies of them and sending them off to Akiko.

In typical Akiko fashion, she was elated when she received the pics and the recording and sent back a message full of hearts back to Hana and ordering her a box of chocolate which she had delivered to her apartment. Akiko and the crew watched the footage and looked at the photos while they tried to think of a name for the new monster. It was unlike any of the others they'd seen so far. They analyzed its body shape, its attacks, its movements and vocalizations and saved them in their databases while they tried their best to think of a name for it. They'd gone with Godzilla thanks to the name Miki had heard from the KOD, but they hadn't named any of the other monsters. before. Before they thought about that, however, they made sure to tell Miki of the Shobijin's warning about Godzilla.

Miki was none too pleased about the warning as she didn't see any foreseeable consequences in just trying to learn about Godzilla, but these Shobijin obviously had stronger powers than she did and she wasn't about to question their knowledge. Still, it seemed a shame that she had to resist connecting to Godzilla.

(for those wondering, the monster Mothra fought with was Burtannus from the Godzilla comics)


	12. Chapter 12 - A True Kaiju

Several days passed without any more activity from the world's Kaiju save for that dragon which Keiichi had since named King Ghidorah due to the sound it made. To Keiichi it sounded like it was crying "giddy" over a prolonged period of time, and given its size and gold color "king" just seemed to fit. The moth was revealed to be called Mothra from the Shobijin who claimed to speak for her. The creature Mothra fought was now called Burtannus due to its brutish nature and its dinosaur-like appearance.

Since then Akiko and the team had analyzed the photos and footage of all the monsters they'd seen and that which they were sent by Hana. Mothra seemed to be the only Kaiju that seemed to be sympathetic to humanity, though she too had a few moments where she seemed upset about what they'd done.

Miki was going through a bit of a rough time trying to accept the warning to stay away from Godzilla. Though she knew he was still a Kaiju and that he was very dangerous, but at the same time she had begun to understand the complexity of his mind and had since begun to unravel the mystery of who he was. He had a personality, feelings, and was a critical thinker. He may not have been the most subtle creature being 100 meters tall, but he was still a living creature and she felt for him given all he'd been through just in the time she had become familiar with his existence. Who knows what he'd gone through before she found out about him.

Miki was unaware of it, but her connection to Godzilla was about to be tested to its limit.

It started with a call Ken received while he was writing a report on the battle between Mothra and Burtannus. The call came in from a friend of his from his college days who told him that King Ghidorah had been sighted in Odowara not far away to the southwest. Ken and the others gathered their gear and hopped in the RV. Along the way they began seeing signs of the devastation the dragon was causing from numerous plumes of smoke which were rising up from the distance as they approached. They came within a couple miles and they saw the shape of the dragon flying around the city and blasting the bejeezus out of everything it could see. When they came to within about two miles of Ghidorah they stopped the RV and got out to find a safer place to observe.

For about ten minutes the dragon devastated the city unimpeded until Mothra appeared from the south from over the ocean. The group was at first glad to see her, but when she got closer and they saw just how much smaller than the dragon she was they immediately grew concerned. Mothra was only about one fourth the size of the dragon and heaven only knows how much lighter. The dragon barely even acknowledged her presence at first until she started blasting it in the back with her antennae beams. The dragon brushed off the attacks once it felt them and one head spun around to blast her with lightning. Thankfully Mothra was nimble and managed to avoid the attack while she continued to press her own, but King Ghidorah continued to ignore her. This went on for about two long and aggravating minutes until the golden dragon finally turned and acknowledged Mothra's presence once the entire area was completely decimated.

The true battle was beginning with a standoff, Mothra and Ghidorah simply facing off without moving.

Ken and the others all watched with anxiety building with every second. If Mothra was struck with that dragon's lightning attacks, she was not going to last long. Ghidorah roared out at Mothra who responded with a few cries of her own, but things only got worse from there.

Ghidorah lashed out with a lightning blast from each head. Two of them missed, but the third one struck Mothra in her left wing which completely screwed with her ability to fly. She faltered an teetered back and forth before she finally regained her balance and started moving around. Ghidorah also began to move and started to chase Mothra around the skies above Odowara. The smaller Kaiju did what she could to avoid him, and thanks to her speed and maneuverability she was able to avoid him and his attacks before finally getting distance enough to turn around and attack him. Mothra had a new plan this time as her abdomen curled down and forward and she then launched dozens upon dozens of tiny spikes out of the barb at the end of her body.

The barbs flew directly into Ghidorah's faces which struck his eyes and caused him to fall to the ground. The resulting tremor was beyond any the team had felt before as Ghidorah's massive body fell from nearly four hundred meters in the air to hit the ground below. The resulting shockwave was beyond any the team had felt before and felt like an 8.0 earthquake. Ghidorah cried out in pain as it shook its heads around trying to dislodge the barbs from its eyes before Mothra continued her assault. Her antennae beams struck the dragon several dozen times as he writhed on the ground.

_Friends, please do not remain here._

The team recognized the voices as belonging to the Shobijin, who had finally made their appearance before them. However, the team was not exactly ready for the sight which awaited them. They looked around and saw nobody at first, but then Miki's abilities altered her to a presence nearby. When her head turned, she was greeted by the sight of two tiny women standing on the hood of a destroyed car.

"Look!" Miki said as she pointed to the Shobijin.

The team looked to where Miki was pointing and their jaws dropped. The sight of the two tiny women standing on the hood of the car was like something out of a sci fi movie, and the team could not bring themselves to believe that what they were seeing at first was real.

_Friends, you must not remain here. Mothra will not be able to hold back Ghidorah for long. Please, for your own safety you must leave._ They pleaded.

Miki was shocked, but her curiosity had trumped her surprise as she walked forward towards the tiny girls.

"You gave me a message before that if I continued connecting with Godzilla that there could be tragic consequences. What did you mean by that?" She asked.

_Godzilla's mind and will are very strong. If you were to try and connect with Godzilla, and he were to reject your attempt, your mind could be overwhelmed by Godzilla's mental defenses and you could fall into a coma or even die._

Miki was shocked that something which seemed as simple as a mental connection could have such dire consequences. Being put into a coma or being killed were not exactly high on her list of priorities, so Miki decided to take their warning to heart and be more careful with her attempts at connecting with Godzilla. However, that was something that would have to wait as Mothra's fight with Ghidorah was taking a turn for the worse.

Mothra's beam attacks on Ghidorah were not having the intended effect, and Ghidorah managed to get to its feet and roared in fury before launching itself into the air and turning on Mothra with more speed than most would think it capable of. It blasted Mothra with its lightning attacks which knocked her from the sky and to the ground. With the tides turned, Ghidorah seemed to have something of a vengeful personality and began blasting Mothra with his lighting. Mothra's wings were getting burned and charred as Ghidorah continued to blast her over and over again, and the Shobijin winced at every attack which struck their beloved Goddess.

Ghidorah then changed tactics and allowed himself to drop from the ground directly on top of Mothra. Once again the Earth was struck with a massive shockwave from the impact and Mothra's wings we pinned to the ground. Ghidorah leaned forward and bit down on Mothra's front wings with its two outer heads while the third began inspecting Mothra's head and thorax. After a moment, it bit down onto Mothra's thorax and started squeezing its jaws shut drawing a yellowish liquid from Mothra which the team could only conclude was her blood. Mothra cried out in agony several times as Ghidorah's jaws continued to clamp down on her body and wings before she was then lifted off the ground. Having had her lower wings pinned to the ground by Ghidorah's feet. they were ripped completely off as she was lifted into the air before the mighty dragon.

The two Shobijin cried out for Mothra, but there was nothing they could do. Mothra's hind wings were now gone as more of her yellow blood seeped from where they used to be attached as Ghidorah flung her into the air and again blasted her with lightning from his three heads. Mothra flew through the air and fell down on top of a building near the water and moved no further. The team at first thought she was dead until she let out a weak cry and moved her head, but Ghidorah was not finished with her yet. The powerful beast walked forward through the city and blasted her twice more which knocked her from the building towards the water and put the front half of her left forewing into the water with her head just feet away. Mothra's cries continued to weaken as Ghidorah continued his march towards her to finish her off, but as the Shobijin cried for their Goddess, Miki was alerted to something which had managed to hide from her until just that moment.

Ghidorah lumbered forward with purpose, completely oblivious to what it was the Miki felt, and that was when Ghidorah looked up too late to see a bright blue light shining through the water of the ocean before him. The water exploded, a bright blue beam of energy flying straight at his center head which made direct contact and forced him to reel back several steps as he fell to the ground crying out in pain. As the water calmed, Miki's mouth curved into a smile as she felt a familiar presence in the water.

Sure enough, the infamous spines broke the surface as Godzilla approached the shore before finally breaking through completely to reveal himself to the golden dragon with a loud roar. The Shobijin seemed surprised, which had Miki wondering about something, but she let it go in favor of watching Godzilla approach the shoreline. Godzilla's sights were set squarely on the dragon, and he walked right passed Mothra's crippled form. Ghidorah managed to get to his feet as Godzilla reached him, but it was not in time to stop Godzilla from spinning around and whacking him in the back with his tail which knocked him forward and onto the ground again. Godzilla stomped onto Ghidorah's right tail which caused a cry of pain to come from the dragon before he charged his breath attack and let fly squarely into the center of Ghidorah's back in between his wings.

The dragon roared out and forced its body to roll which made Godzilla lose his balance and fall to the ground next to him as the dragon forced itself to stand up. Godzilla was halfway to standing when the dragon leaned down and blasted Godzilla in the side of his head at point blank range, knocking the mighty Kaiju to the ground and making him scream out in agony. Godzilla rolled to one side to put his back to the dragon and protect his face from further attacks as the dragon desperately blasted him repeatedly with his lighting attacks. Godzilla waited patiently for the pain in the side of his head to subside before forcing himself to stand up and charge his own breath attack while Ghidorah continued to blast him in the back. His spines lit up and his mouth opened to reveal a blue light gathering within as the air around his head swirled in response.

The dragon's lightning attacks intensified to try and stop him from turning to attack, but it was no use. Godzilla whirled around and blasted Ghidorah in the chest which knocked him back a few steps. The two Kaiju roared at each other for a moment before Godzilla charge him. Taking advantage of the fact that Ghidorah had no arms, Godzilla reached out with his claws and dug them into the dragon's chest. Red blood oozed from the wounds as Godzilla dragged his claws down slowly, but before receiving two bites from the two outer heads who latched onto his neck and his left shoulder. Both bites drew blood of their own, but Godzilla was unfazed. He continued dragging his claws along the dragon's chest before pulling them free and grabbing onto the base of the dragon's center neck. Godzilla began squeezing for all his worth and the center head began convulsing from its inability to breath.

The two outer heads then did something drastic. They both blasted Godzilla with lightning attacks even while they were clamped onto him which finally caused Godzilla to roar in pain and release the dragon from his grip. The attack forced the dragon's heads to let go, as they too took damage from the attack, but not as much as Godzilla who's wounds were now gaping and charred. Godzilla retreated several steps back and growled at Ghidorah who was also beginning to back away. The Kaiju faced each other down for a moment before the dragon launched itself into the sky and retreated, flying off to the north as fast as its wings could take it. Godzilla roared in triumph at having forced the dragon to flee and then turned back towards the ocean.

As he came upon Mothra's crippled form, the moth let out two weak cries.

"What do you think is going on?" Ken asked.

"I don't know, ask the Shobijin." Akiko commented.

Miki came forward and knelt down close to the Shobijin as she whispered to them.

"What's happening?" She asked.

… _Just watch._ They said sadly.

Miki looked up just in time to see Godzilla begin charging his radioactive breath. Her eyes went wide as she realized what he was aiming at, but before she could yell out to stop him Godzilla let fly directly into Mothra's body as she let out one final roar of pain before her body was incinerated and engulfed in flames by his attack. Miki and the team looked on in horror at what Godzilla had done, but despite her shock Miki could sense that Godzilla was not happy about what he'd done. As he lumbered off to the water, he let out no cry of victory as Mothra burned behind him. He waded off into the ocean and disappeared beneath the waves as the entire team was left to wonder just what happened.

"… Why did he do that?" Miki asked unconsciously.

_Mothra was dying and could no longer fly. Godzilla showed her mercy and ended her life._

"I'm so sorry." Miki said as tears began to well in her eyes.

_Do not be sad. Mothra is survived by her offspring back on Infant Island. She will take wing again in due time._

Miki's tears continued to fall, but the news she was given was happy enough to stop her from bawling. The loss of the beautiful creature known as Mothra was a heavy blow to her and the rest of the team, but the world over seemed to be rejoicing in her loss on the news as they considered it to be one less Kaiju to worry about. Miki and the others spoke with the Shobijin about Godzilla and the other monsters before the two tiny women took their leave and magically disappeared in a flash of light, and with the new information they'd been given they returned to their RV and went home.

Things were getting complicated.


	13. Chapter 13 - Up Close And Personal Miki!

The team was hard at work going over the footage of Mothra's fight with Ghidorah and wondering what went wrong and why. Mothra actually had the dragon on the ground after shooting it in the eyes with the barbs from her stinger, but for some reason the dragon was able to remove them because the next time he stood up they were gone. Something had happened while it was down which allowed it to remove the barbs, and whatever was the cause of that was likely the cause of Mothra's downfall.

The team was left frustrated, however, as there was nothing beyond Ghidorah's roaring to look at or listen to on the footage. He didn't do anything beyond flail on the ground before he managed to get up, so what changed? What did he do? Akiko had practically grown grey hair racking her brain trying to figure it out, but like all the others she was left frustrated and confused by what the footage displayed. There were no strange lights, no electricity, no signs of any kind that Ghidorah had managed to do anything other than blink them free from his eyes, but that alone couldn't possibly be all there was too it.

Akiko pushed her laptop away and put her head on the table.

"I'm done. I can't figure out what he was doing!" She moaned.

Ken walked by and patted her head as she closed her eyes to get some sleep. She'd been working hard for a few days to try and figure out what happened to Mothra, so the team decided to let her sleep. Miki on the other hand was hard at work trying to figure something else out for herself, and that was what to do about her abilities now that Godzilla was off limits. She could sense his presence without connecting to him, but he had managed to hide it from her and even the Shobijin for a good while when he was on approach to fight Ghidorah. She couldn't figure out how he did that, nor how or why he would reject her connection to him. Godzilla had no reason to really, because she meant him no harm and she had a feeling that he understood that. It was just a feeling so she could be wrong, but her gut told her that Godzilla would not outright reject a connection for no reason.

The Shobijin weren't able to sense him any earlier than she could, so obviously they were capable of making mistakes. Could they be wrong about Godzilla too? Miki could only wonder.

Keiichi had his own thoughts on the matter, as always, and he had suggested that Ghidorah simply willed them away. The dragon could stand up and jump into the air despite its bulk, and something else had to be going on there as well so he thought that it was something like willpower or some other kind of ability which allowed it to defy physics and gravity and fly. A simple jump should not be enough to get it into the air and allow it flight, so the dragon must have had some kind of extrasensory ability to allow it to get off the ground and move about with the kind of speed it displayed during the latter half of his fight with Mothra.

The theory was regarded as on the right track, but otherwise still nothing but a theory.

Sayuri was fairly silent about the whole thing as she was still getting over the sight of Godzilla destroying Mothra. The girl was young and still rather fragile when it came to such violence, and she was having trouble coping with the image of Mothra's burning body in the wake of Godzilla's attack and departure. Miki had done what she could to help her, but Sayuri was still a bit shaky form the whole ordeal so the team decided to give her some space.

Miki thought to herself for a moment and decided it would be a good idea to get some fresh air. She walked out of the building passed the RV and down to the water's edge. The moon was high and shining down on the ocean which was a beautiful sight. Miki took in a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. She had always loved the smell of the ocean. Even as a little girl she would beg her parents to take her just so she could walk along the sandy beaches and enjoy the scent of the ocean.

As she watched the waves she began to think about Godzilla. He spent the vast majority of his time beneath the surface of the ocean, so what exactly did he do besides sleep? He could breath underwater which was interesting as she never saw any gills when she and Ken went below the ocean to check on him last time. But what else did he do and where did he go? He seemed to like deep sea trenches when it was time to rest, but did he feed underwater too? Did he have a home beneath the waves? He seemed so familiar to Miki for some reason, but at the same time he seemed a complete mystery.

Miki couldn't help but be fascinated with Godzilla and the mysteries surrounding his existence. Where did he come from? What exactly was he? How intelligent was he? How sensitive to injury was he? Did he experience happiness and sadness? Did he experience excitement? Ghidorah seemed excited to fight him the first time they fought together, but did Godzilla ever feel the same? Miki's mind was overloaded with questions about Godzilla which she didn't think she'd ever know the answer to, but hopefully in time she'd find answers to at least a few of them.

Miki sat down on the beach and leaned back on her heads as she looked up at the moon.

"It really is a beautiful night." She said quietly to herself.

As she said that she heard the ocean waves pick up in power a little bit, but as the ocean was unpredictable it was no surprise. She was high enough on the shore that even high tide would not reach her so she was not concerned. The sounds of the ocean were soothing even when they picked up intensity, and Miki closed her eyes and enjoyed the light breeze which was beginning to blow.

… However…

Miki suddenly felt the waters of the ocean brush against her feet, and her eyes opened.

_I'm 20 feet behind the high tide mark… What was that?_ She thought to herself.

Her eyes trailed down towards the ocean and widened as she saw a large mound of water moving towards shore. The mound stopped moving a few hundred feet out, but another wave came at her. She was too stunned to move and was drenched by the oncoming wave before she finally shook off the shock of what was happening. She stood up and watched the water, but nothing happened after that. There was silence and stillness, but she then started to feel that familiar presence again and she knew who was in front of her beneath the waves.

Miki took a few steps forward, and as she did so she was greeted by the sight of Godzilla's head slowly rising out of the water. His eyes almost instantly found her on the shore, and they narrowed slightly as he came forward another hundred feet or so. He was not walking, but crawling on the ocean floor which didn't set off the seismic sensors Ken had set up around the bay as they were calibrated for a much stronger impact such as a footfall. Godzilla's head came completely out of the water with part of his neck as his spines also broke the surface while he stayed still and watched Miki.

She couldn't tell exactly what was on his mind, but she figured he was at least curious about the tiny creature before him. Miki decided that it would be safe to try her luck.

_Just this once._ She thought.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the image of Godzilla in front of her, and she felt a slow connection being made. Godzilla's mind was receptive to hers, and before long she was in. She could sense his curiosity and his surprise at her being able to connect with him like this. Godzilla let out a very subtle and soft growl. The growl was indicative of the same curiosity she could sense from his mind, and Godzilla inched closer foot by foot until he was only about one hundred feet from Miki on the shore.

Miki's connection with Godzilla was becoming stronger, and she could now feel the beating of his heart within her own chest. All of his thoughts and emotions were hers, and she could feel a mixture of interest and confusion on his part. This was dangerous, as any wild animal could become aggressive if frightened or confused. Miki knew to tread cautiously, so she decided to try sending a single thought to Godzilla.

_Do not be afraid._ She thought.

Godzilla's head tilted to one side as his eyes widened ever so slightly. He leaned in a bit closer, his nose about fifty feet from Miki as she stood there with her eyes closed trying to communicate with him.

_I am Miki Saegusa._ She thought, hoping against hope that Godzilla understood the concept of names.

Godzilla's head retreated about twenty feet or so as he let out another soft growl.

By this time, the team had wandered to the door, and as Akiko opened it and her eyes fell on the sight of Godzilla and Miki on the shore her mouth dropped and she froze in place. She couldn't even scream because she was so frightened by what she saw, but as she was about to leave Ken grabbed her by the arm and shook his head "no." Any sudden moves could get Miki killed, and Akiko knew that. Akiko cared too much about Miki to just let her get killed, so leaving her there at Godzilla's mercy was a painful choice to make, but she knew that if she ran out screaming that Godzilla's reaction could very well kill her.

She and the others gathered by the open door and slowly tip toed outside to get a better view. Godzilla was entranced by Miki's presence, and didn't notice them exiting the building to observe. Miki was too focused on Godzilla to notice the presence of the others as well, and so she kept her train of thought on Godzilla.

_Can you understand me?_ She thought.

Godzilla's mouth opened and he let out a slightly louder growl which Miki could feel was a positive response, but Godzilla had no words for her. Miki realized that the idea that thoughts were universal was false, as Godzilla could understand her, but he could not communicate with her using his own "words" in his thoughts. However, Godzilla's reaction was more than enough for her to confirm that he understood what she was asking of him.

_Do you mind if I call you Godzilla?_

Godzilla himself let out a small roar which hurt Miki's ears a little, but otherwise her hearing was safe from harm. The roar was a mixture of feelings, and Miki had a bit of trouble deciphering what it meant. After a moment, she realized that Godzilla didn't really seem to mind the name, and she decided to leave it at that. Godzilla was getting agitated with Miki invading his mind like this, and she realized that his roar had also been a warning.

_Please be safe, Godzilla._ She asked as she let out a breath and released her connection.

Godzilla leaned his head back and started to slowly disappear beneath the waves of the ocean once again, but not before he let out another low growl as he disappeared beneath the waves. Miki's eyes opened and she released a sigh of exhaustion as she slowly sat down to rest. Maintaining a connection with Godzilla had been harder than she thought and was mentally draining for her, but she had managed to connect with him and actually communicate for a few brief minutes with him. The information she could now provide Akiko would surely go a long way to helping them understand him and further their research. Once Godzilla was gone, Akiko rushed down to Miki's side.

"Miki! Are you alright?!" She cried.

Miki responded with a weak "yes," still being slightly winded by her previous efforts.

"Come on, we need to get you inside. Don't forget that Godzilla is radioactive! We need to test you to see how bad your exposure was."

She picked up Miki and rushed her into the RV where they had a geiger counter at the ready. They ran it over Miki and got one or two tiny blips on it before it faded and stopped reading the radiation left behind by Godzilla's body. The team sighed in relief, but still took her to the doctors right away where it was confirmed that she had been exposed, but her body didn't absorb enough to damage her and that she would be just fine. The team took her back to the RV and had her lay down to rest while Akiko sat by her side and spoke to her about what she had experienced. When she found out from Miki that Godzilla accepted his name and that he understood that Miki and the team were no threat, she was incredibly pleased with and proud of Miki for what she had done. She admonished her for being so reckless, but never the less was happy enough to give Miki a hug before letting her go to sleep.

Miki slept soundly that night, content with finally having made such an intimate and meaningful connection with Godzilla.


	14. Chapter 14 - Mothra Oh Mothra

After her exposure to Godzilla, Miki was feeling especially bold. She had taken it upon herself to continue pushing her connection with Godzilla so long as she didn't overstep the boundaries he'd set for her. He had allowed her to feel his thoughts and emotions, but once she tried communicating he became defensive. He was not familiar with her yet, so it was only natural for him to shy away from a stranger and a potential threat. Miki was no threat though, and she knew that he would come to understand that in time so long as she gave him his space while remaining connected.

Meanwhile, everyone continued to wonder what was to become of Mothra. The Shobijin had said that she was survived by her offspring on Infant Island, but they had no idea where that was and how could they be sure that her offspring was safe? They tried searching for Infant Island online and by calling some of their connections, but nobody had ever heard of it or even knew it existed. Wherever it was, it was very well hidden and likely could only be found with help from the Shobijin or Mothra herself.

"Ugh, I wish they'd at least told us how to contact them!" Akiko groaned as she hit her head on the desk.

"Calm down Akiko. If they wanted us to know where Infant Island was, they'd have told us. We just have to be patient." Ken replied.

"Yeah, Ken's right. I know you want to find the island, find the offspring of Mothra, and be the one to document it all but we can't force the Shobijin to reveal their location just because we think it's scientifically important." Keiichi added.

"I know… I know…" Akiko moaned with her face still planted on the desk.

Sayuri raised her hand.

"I think I might have an idea." She said softly.

"Whaddya have?" Akiko asked, face still down on the desk.

"What if Miki and I tried reaching out to them? If we both use our abilities we might be able to make them hear our thoughts." She said.

Akiko's head rolled to the side and she looked at the girl.

"I guess that could work, but if you're going to do that then you should be careful. If the Shobijin don't like what you're doing, there's no telling what lengths they'll go to in order to make sure you don't do it again." Akiko said grimly.

"I don't think they'd do anything to us except ask us not to do it again. They don't strike me as the violent type, or they would have done something already." Ken said.

Akiko's head went back to being face down on the desk.

"Alright, go for it." She said with a lazy wave of her hand.

Sayuri chuckled at the gesture, as she knew that Akiko was just tired and a bit grumpy. She looked over towards Miki who nodded at her. The two of them walked outside trailed by Ken and Keiichi who wanted to make sure they would be alright. Together they held hands and closed their eyes, synchronizing their thoughts and doing their best to reach out and speak to the Shobijin.

_Can you hear us?_ They asked.

Silence…

_Shobijin of Mothra, this is Miki Saegusa and Sayuri Okumura. Can you hear our thoughts?_ They asked.

Still there was nothing.

_Shobijin of Mothra, this is Miki Saegusa and Sayuri Okumura. Can you hear us?_ They asked again.

There was silence for several seconds, but then a breakthrough.

_Miki…?_ Came the tiny but familiar voices of the Shobijin.

Miki's mouth curved into a smile which temporarily broke her concentration and desynchronized the girls thoughts. Sayuri gave Miki's hand a squeeze which helped her to shake off the joy of the connection and return to her concentration. The girls resynchronized their thoughts and called out once more.

_This is Miki Saegusa and Sayuri Okumura, can you hear our voices?_ They asked.

… _Yes, we can hear you. _Came a response.

_Our entire team was greatly saddened by the loss of Mothra and we are greatly concerned about her offspring. Is it alright?_ The girls asked.

_It brings joy to our hearts that you care so much for Mothra Miki and Sayuri. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Mothra's offspring is fine, but as of now it's still only an egg. We, along with the natives of Infant Island, are waiting for it to hatch which should occur anytime now._ The Shobijin responded.

_Is there any way that you could help our team come to see you? We'd love to visit Infant Island to pay our respects to you, Mothra, and the natives of the island._

… _We are very sorry, but we do not fell safe in the idea of allowing outsiders to set foot on our island. We are sorry._

_We understand. As long as we know you're alright we will be able to rest easy._ They said with joy.

There was silence for a long moment.

_Is there something wrong?_ They inquired.

… _We cannot allow you to set foot on our Island, but there is a way to allow you to see the world through our eyes._

_Really? How can you do that? _The girls asked.

_Bring your team together and concentrate on our voices. We will show you our world._ The Shobijin responded.

The girls opened their eyes and called to Ken and Keiichi to get Akiko and all come outside with them. They ran inside and brought her out and all stood in a circle as they closed their eyes and relaxed.

_We are ready._ Miki and Sayuri said.

_Very well then. Welcome friends to Infant Island._

There was a bright flash of light despite their eyes being closed and they were all suddenly sucked into a trance. The team all opened their eyes and looked around, and when they looked down they found they were floating above the water of the ocean. Miki was the first to see the Island and pointed it out to the group who all looked at it in wonder. The Island itself was fairly small, isolated in the middle of nowhere, but never the less was filled with life if the greenery was anything to go by. The group was then propelled forward through a rather trippy warp effect and were suddenly on the Island with the Shobijin standing on a rock just in front of them.

The Shobijin curtseyed

_Welcome friends to our home._ They said.

Everyone looked around in wonder.

"How did you do this?" Akiko asked.

_Telepathy has multiple uses Akiko. We can read and understand your thoughts, or make you see our own. Right now you are all still standing exactly where you last remember outside your home in Japan, but your minds are here on Infant Island with us. Please, this way._ The tiny girls said as they started running down a pathway just to the right of their rock.

The group followed, and despite their tiny size the Shobijin managed to continually appear great distances away. Most of the team guessed that it was because this was a mental projection and they could put themselves wherever they wanted, but then again they were able to literally disappear after Mothra's death so who knows what they were capable of. The team followed for what seemed an eternity before finally coming to what seemed to be a gigantic shrine. Two large statued stood on either side of a large stone tablet with ancient tribal writings carved into it at the top of a small flight of stairs. In front of the shrine was a large circular stone floor where dozens of natives were gathered and sitting on their knees praying towards the tablet.

"This is quite the sight." Ken whispered.

_They pray to our Goddess Mothra. Her egg is up there._ The Shobijin said as they pointed above the rock wall behind the tablet.

The group looked up and their mouths dropped. Sitting in an alcove above the tablet was an egg nearly forty meters in length and at least thirty meters tall. It was covered in colorful markings and patterns which mirrored the colors on the previous Mothra's wings. The crew was completely dumbfounded at what they saw, but they were called out of their wonder by the voices of the Shobijin.

_The egg of Mothra is close to hatching. If you would remain for a while longer, we will allow you to witness this event._ They said.

"Absolutely." Akiko said quietly, still somewhat mesmerized by the egg.

The Shobijin bowed their heads and turned around to face the egg. The natives continued their chanting and praying for a few more minutes before the Shobijin made their way down to another small stone which served as a platform for them to stand on. The natives all turned towards the Shobijin and bowed to them before turning back to the egg. The Shobijin looked back to the crew and smiled with a curtsey before turning back towards the egg. Along the outer edges of the lower level were several natives with musical instruments who began playing. Slowly, the music built up as a wooden flute began playing a beautiful melody which seemed to perfectly fit the atmosphere of the Island.

Then, the Shobijin began to sing.

_Mosura ya Mosura dongan kasakuyan indoo muu rosuto uiraadoa, hanba hanbamuyan randa banunradan tounjukanraa _

_kasaku yaanmu _

_Mosura ya Mosura dongan kasakuyan indoo muu rosuto uiraadoa, hanba hanbamuyan randa banunradan tounjukanraa _

_kasaku yaanmu_

A brief break in the singing was filled by the flute once again taking over the melody. It was exotic and mystifying, and the entire team was completely entranced by what they were hearing as the egg began to glow and flash in bright colors as the Shobijin's song continued.

_Mosura ya Mosura _

_Tasukete yo te, yobeba_

_Toki o koete, Umi o koete_

_Nami no yo ni, yate kuru_

_Mamorigami_

_Mosura ya Mosura yasashisasae wasure arehateta, hito no kokoro inorinagara, utaitai_

_Ai no uta_

_Mosura ya Mosura dongan kasakuyan indoo muu rosuto uiraadoa, hanba hanbamuyan randa banunradan tounjukanraa _

_kasaku yaanmu _

_Mosura ya Mosura dongan kasakuyan indoo muu rosuto uiraadoa, hanba hanbamuyan randa banunradan tounjukanraa _

_kasaku yaanmu _

_Mosura ya Mosura _

_Mosura ya Mosura _

_Mosura ya Mosura _

_Mosura ya Mosura..._

The lights flashing around the egg reached a climax as they intensified and became almost too bright to look at. The egg was now shaking violently and began to crack everywhere around as the body of a large brown worm suddenly burst forth from the egg and let out its first cry to the world. The natives stopped playing music and the Shobijin were overcome with joy at the sight. The crew was slightly taken aback by the sight, but at the same time they felt the same sense of joy at the birth of a new Mothra to take the place of the one which was lost. The large worm crushed the remainder of the egg around it and looked out at the natives and Shobijin and let out another cry as they watched it with great happiness and began praying once again.

The Shobijin returned their attention to the group and bowed their heads.

_Friends. It greatly pleases us that we could show you this wonderful event. Mothra is reborn, and we now know that she has friends beyond Infant Island. We sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts._ They said with a curtsey and a bow of their heads once more.

The crew bowed back with large smiles on their faces.

"We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful sight than this. I must admit, it's really hard for me not to cry right now…" Akiko said as tears started to well in her eyes.

Ken put his arm around her and nodded.

"It's wonderful to know that Mothra is back." He said quietly.

"How long until it becomes an adult?" Keiichi asked, which earned him an elbow from Akiko.

"What?" He asked.

"Don't worry about him. But I am curious as to whether or not the newborn will be safe here. We might not be able to find it, but what about other monsters like Ghidorah or Godzilla? He may have shown the previous Mothra mercy and put her out of her misery, but how do we know that he won't attack the newborn if he gets the chance?" Miki asked.

The Shobijin looked at each other and then back to Miki.

_Godzilla is not a threat to Mothra at the present time. If she were to stand in his way, he would surely not think twice about attacking her. However, on this Island the baby is perfectly safe as the Island itself is cloaked from the world around it thanks to a field of energy the ancestors of the natives placed on it millennia ago. Godzilla has swam by this Island numerous times over the years, but he has never once noticed its presence. Do not fear friends. We are in no danger here._

"Well that's a relief." Miki said.

"Well, I think we've stayed long enough." Ken said as he looked to the Shobijin.

"Thank you for showing us this event, but I think it's time we went back. We wish you and the newborn luck, and hopefully we'll see Mothra take wing again before long." He said with a bow of his head.

_She will take flight soon, rest assured. Thank you again friends, and be safe._ The Shobijin said as the group was suddenly thrust back into the real world.

They all opened their eyes and had to sit down after the experience as it was quite the trip, but overall the group was satisfied about what had happened and what they were shown.

( The song is on youtube if you haven't heard it yet and care to listen to it: /watch?v=5qU1OTH6X8M )


	15. Chapter 15 - Through the Eyes of a Kaiju

Explosions shook the Earth as clouds of dust and debris completely blocked out the sun's light on the city of Fukuoka. Tank rounds, mortar shells, land based missiles, rocket launchers, bombs planted in the streets, bombs dropped from bomber aircraft and missiles fired from fighter jets were all being used in a desperate attempt to stop the massive Kaiju lumbering through the streets. Time after time the explosions went off and the dust cleared only to reveal that the Kaiju was completely unaffected. No injuries, no blood, and his pace never slowed.

From his own vantage point the Kaiju looked down upon his attackers as each round struck his body and felt like a little more than a stone being thrown at him. Some of the larger rounds stung, but otherwise did nothing to stop him. He watched the troops scattering beneath his feet, the tanks rolling back to get out of his way when he got too close, and the planes staying at a distance to try and escape his breath attack. Two planes had already been shot down by his laser like precision with an other full battalion of tanks having suffered the same fate. New equipment was brought to bear against him in the form of maser weapons which fired powerful lasers at him. These weapons, however, were also useless as they did little more than annoy him.

The monster leaned his head back and let fly with his breath attack which destroyed two of the masers set against him while the others backed away and tried to find a better firing point. One of the masers fired at his eyes but thankfully it missed and struck him in the cheek instead. The blast still stung, but once again he powered up and let fly with his breath attack to destroy the masers. He continued on his way until he reached the edge of the city and found the nuclear plant he had been looking for. After destroying part of the plant and digging around inside he found the core of the reactor and pulled it free releasing the radiation which he then began to absorb. As he fed on the radiation released from the core his spines began glowing blue until he had drained it of all its power. Dropping the core, he turned and walked back towards the sea.

As he neared the ocean he was once again set upon by the human military forces which tried to attack and destroy him. Again he brushed them aside and blasted their forces with his breath which was freshly charged and more powerful than before. Once they had been dispatched, he continued along his path to the ocean and waded out into the sea. He disappeared beneath the waves and after about thirty minutes he began hearing a strange pinging sound. The sound was beyond irritating, and he was of a mind to silence it. He made his way towards the sound and discovered large black objects swimming around with other black shapes on the surface of the ocean.

That irritating pinging sound continued and his anger began to mount until one of the large black shapes launched something at him. He waited for a few seconds until it struck his body and exploded. He was taken aback by it, but otherwise unharmed. He started swimming towards the strange object which had attacked him as it launched several more explosives at him. The attempt to stop him was futile as he reached the vessel and began ripping into it with his claws. It started letting out strange noises and flashing red lights from within before he blasted it with his breath attack and watched it explode and start sinking in several hundred pieces. The pinging sound, however, did not disappear. He couldn't tell which of these strange objects was producing the sound, but he knew that if he destroyed all of them it would stop.

He set about attacking all of the objects which attacked him under the water first before turning his attention to those on the surface. He decided it would only be fair to engage them on the surface, so he breached the surface and looked around to see what was waiting for him. The water's surface was littered with military ships which all started locking onto and firing at him. Missiles and bombs were launched at him to no effect as he floated on the surface and let them fire for a few minutes before he blasted them with his breath attack. When the surface of the water was cleared of the wretched ships, the annoying pinging sound had stopped. Finally without that irritating sound in his ears, he disappeared beneath the surface of the water and continued on his way.

He swam for hours through the vast ocean. He saw many things along the way including pods of whales, enormous schools of fish, sharks and other fishing vessels trailing large nets full of fish. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the fishing vessels with their nets, but he continued swimming by as he enjoyed the quiet serenity the ocean provided. No serious drama ever happened in the open ocean away from shore, it was just a quiet and endless expanse of open water where the occasional wandering creature could be found. Otherwise it was a watery desert devoid of life. Despite the lack of other life forms, he rather enjoyed the peace and quiet where she could just swim and not worry about being attacked by anything.

As his weariness increased, he descended down to the ocean depths where he found a nice comfortable spot on the ocean floor to lay down and get some rest. He settled down in between some large rocks which formed a near perfect bed for him and closed his eyes. He slept soundly for almost an entire day before he opened his eyes again and realized that something was wrong on the surface world. He looked up and started swimming with great speed towards the faint light of the sun above until he broke through and took his first breath of fresh air in over twenty four hours. He looked around until he managed to figure out which direction his senses were warning him about and started making a beeline for the shore. Along the way he was once again attacked by military ships which he promptly dispatched before arriving on the shore of an island (Yakushima Island) on the southern end of Japan.

Something was going on within the heart of the island and he didn't like what he was sensing. He lumbered through the small human habitations on the eastern edge of the island and made his way towards the mountain at the islands center. As he approached the mountain he started hearing strange calls echoing around the island. The sounds were somewhat high pitched, but still held a depth to it which gave the impression that it was a rather large beast. He circled the mountain, but still never saw anything. As he reached a certain point along the northwestern edge he'd had enough and blasted the mountainside with his breath attack. After a few seconds, the calls began echoing louder and more aggressively as a giant birdlike creature rose into the sky and started descending towards him.

The Kaiju was a reddish brown coloration with a long neck, sharp beak, enormous wings and wicked claws on both of its feet. The massive creature's body was just a little smaller than his own and his wings were almost as long as his entire body. The creature roared down at him and circled overhead, demanding retribution for his attack on its home. He watched it circle above and was not impressed by the display, and he charged his breath attack and let fly. The flying creature just barely managed to dodge the attack and then promptly dove down on top of him clawing at his face and truing to use his enormous wings to batter him into submission. He ducked his face and shut his eyes as the claws raked across them before he opened his mouth and bit down on one of the creature's feet causing it to cry out in pain.

He released his grip on the creature and blasted it near point blank range with his breath sending it flying into the side of the mountain. The creature shook its head and tried to clear it of the surprise, and as it recovered it leaped into the air and started flying away. He roared after the bird creature before it disappeared beyond the horizon. He looked around as he tried to make sense of it, but before he could figure anything out he heard a very high pitched noise. He looked around, but he still couldn't find anything. There was a loud "bang" in the distance, and as he looked out towards where he heard the sound the bird creature flew at him and then right passed him at such a speed that he couldn't hear anything until almost a full second after it had passed him by. The wind and resulting shockwave knocked him to the ground as he stumbled over his feet.

The bird flew passed him several more times before it flew up high into the skies above and then turned and dove straight down onto him. The bird opened up his claws and dug them deep into the flesh of his mid and lower torso as he released a shriek of pain. He was then lifted into the air slowly and steadily before the bird dropped him onto the peak of the mountain. His body hit the ground with great force and he rolled down the side of the mountain before coming to a stop near its base. He stumbled to his feet at felt the bird ram the back of his head with its stomach which knocked him to the ground again. He shook his head and got to his feet as he was rammed in the back of the head again and knocked to the ground. Again he got to his feet, and as he felt the bird try the attack again he ducked his head and avoided the attack.

The bird flew passed him and had to correct its flight pattern as he charged his breath attack and blasted him in the back. The bird hit the ground before it took to the skies again and circled high overhead again. The bird took up a static position and started aggressively flapping its wings at him causing hurricane level winds to hit him head on which forced him to stagger back several steps before getting his footing and digging in with his feet to stop himself from moving back any farther. He looked up through the winds and charged his attack again, but the bird creature knew what was coming and stopped his own attack to try and retreat but it was too late. He let fly with his breath attack and struck the creature in the chest which knocked it from the sky one last time. The bird fell to the ground and he walked forward and stomped its chest a few times before backing away.

The bird writhed for a few seconds and then went still. He watched it for a few minutes, making sure it would not get up, but its eyes opened and it started writhing again. He cocked his head to the side and watched as it slowly managed to flip itself onto its stomach and start flapping its wings to try and take to the skies, but it was too weak to get the lift it needed. He had made his point, and the bird knew it as well as he did. He turned and walked away as he made his way towards the ocean once more. The bird would live. He knew that much. But now that the bird knew which of the two of them was stronger, he doubted that he'd have to prove the point again anytime soon.

He waded back into the water and disappeared beneath the waves, content in his dominance over the world above for the time being.


	16. Chapter 16 - A World Without Monsters

*Bzzzz* … *Bzzz*

The television powered on and lit up as the screen brought up the news.

"Tonight, we take a look at the devastation caused throughout the city of Odowara by the golden dragon before it faced off against a giant moth and a large lizard with spikes on its back. As you can see behind me, the entire city is in ruins. There isn't a single building left standing, even in the smaller rural districts."

The camera panned around to the devastated city and back to the man speaking.

"The city is gone, and everyone who used to live in it either perished in the unforeseen attack or is now living somewhere without a home. Entire lives were ruined for the sake of what can only be described as an unprovoked attack meant to cause as much destruction and mayhem as possible. The dragon's attack has left the entire area dead and still in the process of being cleaned even now that it's been nearly two weeks since the incident."

The camera panned left a little as a previous resident of the city was brought forth.

"I am joined now by Mr. Takeda Furukawa who lost his family and his home in the attack. Could you describe for us what happened through your eyes that day please?" The newsman asked as he turned the microphone towards Takeda.

"It came from out of nowhere. Just… Appeared in the sky. Before I knew it the damn thing was blasting houses and entire sections of the neighborhood with its lightning attacks. I tried to rush my family out of the house, but in the confusion my house was also attacked. I was just barely able to escape death myself, but at this point I wish I hadn't. I lost my wife, my two sons, and everything I owned. Thanks to that dragon, I've got nothing left to live for." He said as tears began to well in his eyes.

"Thank you Mr. Takeda." The newsman said as the camera panned to the newsman and Takeda walked away.

"Now we take you live to the island of Yakushima just off the southern coast of Japan. My fellow news reporter is live on the scene. Midori, could you please fill us in on what took place earlier today?" He asked.

The screen switched to one of a young female Japanese reporter standing on the island just a little ways off from the destruction caused to the mountain and the landscape during the fight.

"Thank you Daisuke. The island behind me is battered and beaten, the scene of a gruesome battle between a giant red reptilian bird and the massive lizard creature responsible for driving away the golden dragon and burning the giant moth before it left Odowara. The destruction caused to the island has left several dozen families without homes or a livelihood, as during the lizard's approach and departure, he crushed dozens of houses in his path. I have here with me Mrs. Haruhi Tateyama who witnessed the fight first hand on a while on a camping trip in the forest at the base of the mountain. Could you describe the fight for us please?"

The camera turned towards Haruhi.

"The fight was started by the lizard. It seemed to wait for the bird, but it didn't show up so it blasted the mountain with a bright blue beam of light from its mouth. The bird came out and the fight started. At first it seemed like the bird had the advantage, but the lizard quickly turned the tide and beat the poor thing down."

"Do you believe that the lizard did this for a reason? Or do you think it was unprovoked?"

"I believe it was unprovoked as we didn't even realize the bird had roosted here on the island until the lizard came along. It was living quietly and keeping to itself without an issue."

"Thank you Mrs. Tateyama. Back to you Daisuke." Midori said as the screen returned to Daisuke in Odowara.

"Thank you Midori. We bring you now a live update direct from the mouths of the Japanese Government. The creatures have all been given names thanks to an anonymous source which claims to have recorded, photographed and documented these creatures. Hence forth, the giant lizard is named Godzilla. The dragon is named King Ghidorah. The giant underground monster is called Burtannus, and the moth is Mothra. As the bird was only recently discovered and remains undocumented it does not have a name, but we will keep everyone up to date on the changes as they occur."

The camera panned slightly to the right to reveal a military figure dressed in full military attire and decorations.

"I would like to present General Ichirou Yamamoto who is head of the efforts to stop these creatures. General, could you please give us a few words sir?"

"The monsters are a menace to our civilization. We are prepared to do anything and everything to stop them. We have already collaborated with foreign governments and have established the United Nations Kaiju Defense Organization. The organization's purpose is to bring together the top minds from around the world to help figure out a way to bring an end to these monsters once and for all. That's all I can give you for now. Good day." The general said as he turned and walked away.

Daisuke returned his attention to the camera.

"There you have it ladies and gentlemen. The United Nations Kaiju Defense Organization is henceforth watching over us and planning ways to defeat these monsters. If even just the lizard or the dragon could be brought down, it would mean a huge sigh of relief for the world. We'll be right back after these messages from our sponsors."

The screen faded temporarily before going to commercials, and was promptly shut off.

"… How the Hell did ANYONE know about our research?!" Akiko yelled as she threw the remote.

Ken grabbed her arms and tried to hold her down, but Akiko fought vigorously to escape his grip and pushed him away.

"Don't touch me Ken! Someone has leaked our information and data to the government without our permission!"

"I know, I am not blind Akiko. But there's nothing we can do now. We can't just take it back. The government is now protecting the information they were given. I don't know who did this, but it must have been some kind of hacker because nobody on our team would do such a thing."

"Can you prove that?!" She yelled.

"No, I can't." He said in defeat.

"Then don't try to use it to calm me down!" She yelled as she pushed over a chair.

Miki and Sayuri were sitting nearby in shock and horror that somehow the information they'd all worked so hard to collect was now in the hands of the government and being used to find a way to kill the Kaiju. Despite the devastation they caused, Godzilla and Mothra were beautiful creatures worthy of further study and analysis. The dragon probably should go, but only because it seemed more aggressive and actually felt evil to both of the psychics. They wouldn't ever say it out loud, but they feared and loathed the creature with immense prejudice.

Akiko's fit was brought to a standstill when she sat down in another chair which hand't been thrown or flipped over and she buried her face in her arms and cried. Ken sat next to her and rubbed her back, trying to help her relax as she let her tears wash away her anger. Keiichi was sitting quietly in the corner staring at his computer which held their data and was shaking his head, wondering how someone could hack through the encryptions he put in place.

Nobody knew what happened or how, but someone had gained access to their information and sent it to the government. But who? Nobody they knew was a hacker or had the skills to steal their information. Their data was kept under lock and key, both literally and electronically. Who knew about their operation well enough to be able to tap into their systems and hack their data? Keiichi's fists tightened as he angrily closed his laptop and let out a sigh of frustration. Miki and Sayuri sat together in silence, Sayuri taking comfort in Miki's arms as they tried to make sense of what had happened.

Ken turned the television back on just in time to catch more news with a few more interviews.

"I'm here with Naoki Shimizu of Odowara who is yet another victim of King Ghidorah's rampage. Could you please describe for us your experience and your thoughts on the efforts of the world's governments about the Kaiju?"

"Ghidorah, and indeed all of those monsters are a threat to humanity and should be wiped out. I say it's about time our government got serious about these threats and finally took the step to ask the rest of the world for help. The sooner the monsters die, the better!" He said with a "humph" and a nod of satisfaction.

"Thank you Naoki. On my left we have Mrs. Chiyo Tanaka who witnessed the fighting between the monsters that day and lived to tell about it. Could you please describe your experience and your thoughts on the governments course of action?"

"To tell the truth, I don't remember the battle very well because half the time I was looking away. When Mothra's wings were torn off, I had to look away because I thought for sure it would rip her body in half next. When Godzilla arrived, I was relieved when he began attacking Ghidorah and managed to drive it away. I was sorry to see him kill Mothra, but without the ability to fly I think she'd have died anyway. In my opinion, the government is rushing to conclusions about the monsters and thinking only of the damage they've caused instead of the individual actions they've taken. I don't want to see Godzilla destroyed because in my eyes, it saved Mothra when you get right down to it. Godzilla's actions against Ghidorah also saved all of us who survived its initial rampage, and I am grateful to Godzilla for that. I do think that the monsters need to be controlled somehow so they don't cause damage, but destroying them would be a waste."

As she finished, there were a few howls from people in the background who were booing her and shaking their heads while making inappropriate gestures towards her.

"Thank you Mrs. Tanaka. We're going to take another short break and be right back after these messages."

The television was shut off and Ken looked back to Akiko who was still silently sobbing to herself as she tried to come to grips with the grim reality set before her. Her team's research and hard work had been stolen and sent to the government before it was ready. Her team was likely now on the government's watch list, as it was unlikely the thief withheld information about the team as well including their names and faces. And above all, the government was now out to kill ALL the monsters.

Ken decided it would be a good idea for them to all go to bed, as it was getting late and they all needed to get some sleep. Before the long the government would come knocking, and when they did they'd likely be shut down since the government wouldn't want them continuing their work or interfering in government affairs. He escorted Sayuri to bed while he asked the others to turn in as well. Sayuri and Miki went to the RV where they stayed up and discussed for a while what they would do if the government came to shut them down. If they were allowed to continue their work then that would be wonderful, but there was little chance of that happening if the government was really intent on using what was stolen from their team to kill the Kaiju.

Before long the entire team fell asleep, and if they only knew what was ahead...


	17. Chapter 17 - Taken

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

The door of the main building rattled against the force of the knocking, which was promptly followed by the sound of someone yelling behind it.

"Open this door!" A male voice yelled.

Akiko and Ken were awake, but still sleepy as it was 5am in the morning. Ken unlocked the door, and once it was unlocked it was forcibly opened from the other side as a man in military attire scowled at them.

"Are you Ken Inouye and Akiko Nakazawa?" He asked.

As Ken started to actually wake up, he noticed that there were several other men in military attire standing behind the one in the door.

"Where are Miki Saegusa and Sayuri Okumura?" He demanded.

"They're asleep in the RV… If they haven't been woken up by the racket already." Ken replied.

The military officer turned towards the RV and knocked loudly on the door.

"Open this door!" He yelled.

The door to the RV opened and revealed Sayuri who was rubbing her eyes and asking what was going on. Before she was provided with an answer she was yanked out of the RV by her arm as one of the men went inside and started to drag out Miki as well. Both of the girls were crying out asking what was going on, but they were being pushed away towards a military vehicle nearby as Ken was held back by the first military officer when he tried to help the girls.

"What the Hell is going on?!" Ken yelled.

"Watch yourself Mr. Inouye. These women are being recruited by the Japanese Military due to the importance of their abilities to sense the presence of the Kaiju. Civilian interference is a severe offense Mr. Inouye, so step back inside and stay there until we are gone."

He gave Ken a shove back through the door and closed it behind himself as he went to the vehicle the girls were in and closed the door. The vehicle fired up and drove away, followed by a few others the rest of the soldiers had come in and they disappeared down the road. Ken, Akiko and Keiichi all walked outside and looked at each other in sheer and utter confusion as to what had just happened.

"Can they do that?" Keiichi asked.

Ken shook his head but shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. I don't think so, but there's nothing we can do now." Ken said.

"What do you mean nothing we can do now? We have to find them and get them back!" Akiko yelled.

"There's nothing we can do. I don't know if they can just take them, but civilian interference in government and military affairs is in fact a crime. We don't have a choice but to wait this out." He said.

Akiko kicked the wall and went back inside to get dressed properly before starting their day. Now that they were down two of their more important members, the team was going to have a very difficult time moving forward with their research.

Meanwhile, in the military vehicle, Miki and Sayuri were sitting together as two soldiers glared at them. They didn't need words to know they were in trouble, but for what they didn't know. They hadn't done anything wrong, so why were they being taken? Neither Miki nor Sayuri were able to tell what these men were thinking, but they could sense that there was something wrong with what was happening. They weren't who they said they were, and that was made all the more apparent as the man who said they were being "recruited" sat in the front seat and took off his "military" hat and looked back at the girls with a wicked smile.

The girls looked at each other and avoided eye contact with all of the men in the vehicle throughout the trip.

When the vehicle came to a stop, the girls were pulled out and escorted into what looked like an abandoned warehouse, but as they walked through the doors they were led to a removable floor which opened up to reveal a staircase leading down beneath the ground. They were escorted down the stairs through a long hallway, down several other corridors and twists and turns until they finally came to one final metal door where they were stopped until the man who took them from the group pressed his hand to a fingerprint recognition pad and the door unlocked. They walked through the door and entered a room which looked like it was ripped out of a comic book.

The door opened up into an impossibly large room which looked like it was nearly one thousand yards wide, at least five hundred yards to the ceiling, and well over one thousand yards in length leading back into the distance. The far right side of the room was sectioned off by a blue light emanating from somewhere beneath the floor. The rest of the room was divided up into sections by large glass walls with hundreds of people working on computers and dozens of television sets monitoring the monsters around the world. How they managed to located them all and keep tabs on them was beyond Miki, but as she looked around she was horrified by what she saw. While it was on the one hand fascinating and almost mesmerizing to look at, it was also terrifying to know that these people had been able to locate and monitor the monsters with this much technology at their disposal. There was no telling what they'd be able to do.

Miki and Sayuri were led to the back of the building where a television screen the size of a movie theater screen was waiting for them with a live feed of Godzilla sleeping soundly on the ocean floor. Standing beneath the screen was a woman in a black lab coat with black pants and boots who turned around to look at the girls. She had her hair done up in a ponytail and had a pair of glasses on her face. Miki and Sayuri looked at each other for a moment and then looked back to the woman who then smiled at them with the slightest of nods of her head.

"Welcome ladies." She said.

She had a silky and warm voice despite the sinister vibe the room and most of the personnel gave off, but there was something oddly familiar about her to both of the girls.

_I'm sure you're wondering what you're doing here._ Came the woman's voice in their minds.

The girls' eyes both snapped fully open as they looked at her. The woman's smile widened slightly as she continued to look at the girls.

_Yes ladies, I have the same abilities you do. Call me Harmony. It was I who hacked your network and leaked your data and research documents to the government. I was also the one who convinced them to "recruit" you, though our team managed to reach you first which I'm very pleased with. Your friends are likely being arrested for trying to hide you away as we speak, so don't get any ideas in your head about returning to them. The chances you'll see them again are quite slim unless you do exactly as I say._

Miki's eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed in anger as she frowned at the woman before her. She didn't seem intimidated by Miki's facial expression, as she walked towards her a few paces.

_Now now miss Saegusa, try to be reasonable. I only need your services for a short time, then you will be free to go and I will give you my word that your friends will not be harmed. If they have been apprehended by the police, then I will take measures to ensure their release. But until such a time as I have everything I need, you will remain here and assist me in my own research on the beautiful creature you see on the screen behind me._

She turned around to face the screen.

"Isn't he magnificent? A near perfect specimen with unrivaled potential!" She said as she opened her arms our in emphasis.

"The government would see him destroyed, but they will never be able to accomplish such a task. Godzilla is invincible, and not even the power of King Ghidorah could bring him down despite the difference in their size and physical strength. If they did not have any special abilities, many would say that King Ghidorah would overpower Godzilla in every fight. But we know better, don't we ladies?" She asked as she turned around.

Miki's scowl remained on her face as Sayuri stayed behind her.

"Miki… Tell me, have you bonded with Godzilla?" She asked.

Miki tried to keep her exterior from changing, but inside she became worried as to where the conversation was going.

_If you think I can't read your heart, then you're wrong my dear. I happen to know, thanks to your online journal, that you hold quite a bit of emotional attachment to Godzilla. You care for him as a living creature, more so than almost anyone else I'd imagine save for myself._

Miki softened her expression but kept the frown.

"Miki, tell me to my face that you don't want Godzilla to be able to live in peace in this world." She said as she stood right in front of Miki.

Miki remained silent.

"Very well then, keep trying to be strong and defiant for your friend Sayuri. It doesn't matter to me. The only thing that matters to me is that I will be able to utilize your powers to lure Godzilla to this underground lair and contain him indefinitely… Do you think I'm insane?" She asked.

Miki only nodded her head.

"I shouldn't be surprised. But allow me to show you something new and, I must say, unique. Come." She said with a single gesture of her arm towards the giant section of the floor which was blocked off by the blue light.

"I believe you noticed this section when you came in, yes? This is our Kaiju containment zone where we will keep Godzilla once we've used your power to lure him here. The light you are seeing is a field of ultrasonic frequencies which Godzilla cannot stand and will avoid at all costs. It is concentrated through the gaps in the floor so that it will only affect him when his body comes into contact with it, so he will remain within the field so long as it is active which is how we'll keep him here. If you need proof of how the field works, just watch the screen." She said as she turned her head back towards the screen.

As Godzilla slept, a small mechanical arm came into view holding a small device emitting that same blue light as in the ground. The arm pressed a button on the device and Godzilla instantly awoke and started shrieking in pain as he writhed in pain beneath the sea. Miki's heart dropped as he watched it take place, and she ran to the woman and grabbed her coat.

"Stop it! Stop it right now!" She screamed.

Harmony looked back to the screen, and the device stopped. Godzilla shook off the pain in his ears and his head for a good thirty seconds before settling back down to try and rest.

"Well then, now that you know I speak the truth about the field, just know that you are doing Godzilla a favor. We have one of these bases for each Kaiju, and before long we will own them all and they will be safe from the surface world's prejudice and hate forever."

Miki looked back to Godzilla on the screen, her heart aching as she thought about what they were going to do to him once he was here. If the woman's power was as strong as Miki thought it was, it was almost a certainty that Godzilla would end up here before long.

_Stay safe Godzilla…_ Miki thought.


	18. Chapter 18 - Something Gone Wrong

Godzilla stirred on the ocean floor suddenly awakened by the sense that something was wrong. His eyes snapped open and he lifted his head and looked around. There was nothing but blackness surrounding him, but he was convinced that something was going awry. He lifted himself up on his arms and pushed off the ground with his feet using his tail as a rudder and a power source to propel him forward through the water.

"Godzilla's on the move!" Came a shout.

"Follow him. I don't want him escaping his escort." Harmony ordered.

"Yes ma'am."

A small unmanned submersible began to trail after Godzilla using a silent propulsion system to avoid detection. It stayed at a respectful distance to ensure that Godzilla didn't hear or see it while it continued to tail him for several miles. Then, something amazing happened. Godzilla came to a stop and floated in place as he turned around and looked right at the submersible and the screen went black.

"What happened?!" Harmony demanded.

"We lost the sub ma'am." The man at the main computer responded.

"Get the feed back!" She yelled.

"We can't. The sub isn't responding. I think he destroyed it."

"… Dammit. Get the second submersible on him."

"Yes ma'am."

A second screen popped up and sat quiet with nothing but blue on the screen until Godzilla flashed by it a few moments later. The sub followed Godzilla for several minutes before he stopped, turned, and the screen went black as his eyes fell upon it.

"What the Hell is happening? How is he detecting the subs?!" Harmony screamed.

"I-I don't know ma'am. They're supposed to be completely silent so we know he can't hear them. Something else must be giving away their presence."

Harmony looked at the black screen and bit down on her thumb in frustration. Then, she had a thought. She looked over her shoulder at Miki who was watching the screen the whole time. Harmony looked back to the screen, then back to Miki.

"Put our final sub on him." She said calmly.

"Y-Yes ma'am." He said as he brought their final sub up on the screen.

"You there, turn them around." She ordered.

The guard standing with Miki and Sayuri had both women turn around so they couldn't see the screen as ordered. Harmony looked back just as the screen came up blue again from the final submersible approaching Godzilla. It hid at a distance until his silhouette passed by and it began tailing him. It stayed on Godzilla successfully for over twenty minutes until Harmony decided to test her theory.

"Turn them back around." She ordered as she turned to watch Miki.

Miki and Sayuri were turned around again so they could see the screen, and Melody's attention returned to it as well. Sure enough, Godzilla stopped, turned, and destroyed the sub after about two minutes had passed since Miki turned to watch. Harmony took in a breath and nodded silently to herself.

"That was our last sub ma'am. We'll have to wait until he surfaces to start trailing him with the air units."

"I'm well aware of that. Just be ready." She ordered.

"Yes ma'am."

Harmony's frown slowly arched into a smile as she turned around and looked at Miki with a very smug look on her face. She walked forward with a small sway in her steps as she walked up to Miki and looked down at her.

"So, how do you do it?" She asked.

"What are you talking about?" Miki asked.

"Don't play dumb with me. How are you showing him what you see?" Harmony demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about. He's a smart Kaiju. Maybe your subs just aren't as secret as you'd like to believe." Miki growled.

Harmony's mouth opened to argue, but then she had another thought.

"… You really aren't doing anything?" She asked one last time.

"No!" Miki snapped.

Harmony nodded with a smile as she turned her head towards the screen.

"… He _is_ smart…" Harmony muttered as she looked back to Miki.

"You're right Miki, you didn't do anything at all… _He_ did." She said as she pointed to the black screen.

Miki shook her head.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You have indeed bonded with Godzilla. He is sensing your distress right now and is reacting to it. He likely doesn't know what is wrong or why, but he's connecting to you even though you aren't aware of it. He saw the screen through your eyes because he's zoning in on your thoughts, and he was able to see the subs following him. When you turned away, he was blind, but when you turned back to the screen he reacted to the sub."

She walked forward and put her face right in front of Miki's.

"He is much more beautiful than I had first realized, and I must thank you for proving that to me my dear. He can see the world through your eyes and you didn't even know it."

She turned around and faced the screen again as one of their air units flying over the ocean was sent to Godzilla's last known coordinates before the final sub was destroyed and it followed the water at Godzilla's speed and direction to try and catch him when he surfaced. When he did, it was right in the drone's path as planned. Miki was ordered out of the room and to her "quarters" while everyone else kept their eyes on the screen. Miki and Sayuri were taken away down the halls and through a few other corridors where they were dropped off in their room and the door was locked from the outside.

They sat down together on the bed and waited, because it was all they could do.

Harmony looked at the screen and watched Godzilla as he swam on the surface towards shore. There was no way that he could know exactly where Miki was, but he was going in the right direction. If he was allowed to continue on this pathway, it could mean disaster not just for them, but for a good deal many more people as well. While Harmony wasn't much for playing by the rules, she did respect the fact that the people who lived on the surface deserved to be safe from the monsters just as much as the monsters deserved to be safe from them. The only thing she could think of was to move Miki to another facility on the sea a few hundred miles away, but she didn't want to give up Miki that easily. If she moved her now, she'd never get her back because of the bastard in charge of the other facility. Plus, he and his men were lecherous and the girls would likely not last more than a few hours over there before being violated.

Still, she had to do something to steer Godzilla away and to convince him that Miki was alright. Then, she had a thought. She didn't like it, but it was the only thing she could do to stop his advance.

"Get Miki back out here." She ordered.

"Yes ma'am." A nearby guard responded.

Miki was brought out a few minutes later and made to sit down on a chair up on Harmony's command platform. Harmony sat on the chair opposite her and took her glasses off.

"He's coming for you. You know that right?" She asked.

Miki tried looking at the screen, but Harmony snapped her fingers in front of her face.

"No, no. Right here." She said as she pointed to her own face.

"Now then Miki, he knows that you are stressed and that you believe you are in danger here. We need to do something about that, and I know a way." Harmony said.

"Why? Are you scared of him?" Miki asked.

Harmony was silent for a moment, but continued.

"In order to stop his advance and get him to go back and rest peacefully, you need to released your stress. Now then, this is going to be uncomfortable for a few seconds, but just try to relax."

Harmony put her thumb on the center of MIki's forehead and and gripped her lower jaw with her left hand. She closed her eyes before Miki could struggle, and Miki froze in place. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as Harmony used her own power to overwhelm Miki's mental defenses and infiltrate her brainwaves. She instilled her own sense of calmness and security into Miki's mind, essentially brainwashing her and forcing her to believe what Harmony wanted her to believe.

Slowly, Miki's mind came under her control and she released her grip on the girl as she took in a breath and let it out on a sigh. It took a bit of effort, and she dropped into her chair as she looked towards the screen. After a few minutes, Godzilla slowed to a stop and looked around. He did so for a few minutes, but eventually he turned around and swam back out towards the ocean. It was good timing too because he was only ten minutes away from shore. He disappeared beneath the waves as Harmony looked back to Miki who sat there with a drowsy look on her face.

"Take her back to her room and make sure that her friend doesn't bother her. Put her in another room while Miki gets some rest. She starts her work tomorrow whether she's ready or not." She ordered.

"Yes ma'am." The guard said as he escorted Miki back to her room and putting Sayuri in another one.

"Not this time big boy. Not this time." Harmony said as she got up and walked away to get some rest for herself.

Meanwhile, under the surface of the water, Godzilla had doubled back and was now swimming towards shore at an even greater speed. The drone had been called back when he disappeared beneath the surface, but Godzilla was still on his way. The change had the opposite effect, and Godzilla felt an even greater sense of urgency to reach his destination.

He was not only five minutes away from shore, and Hell bent on finding out what was wrong.


	19. Chapter 19 - To Trap A Kaiju

The day had been long and nobody even knew what to say. Akiko was locked in her room in the main building while Keiichi was blankly staring at the screen of his laptop trying to find Godzilla on sonar. Thus far, no luck. Ken was up and pacing about trying to figure out what he could do or what he could say to get Akiko out of her room, but nothing came to mind. Akiko had grown very attached to both Miki and Sayuri like a big sister and was incredibly upset that they weren't around anymore. On top of that, there was no guarantee that they'd make it home safely.

As Ken paced about, Keiichi looked to him and tried to make a suggestion.

"Something my father always said was that when life gets you down you should find something to work on. Why not help me try to find the big guy? It'd give us something to-"

"Ping*

Keiichi's eyes slowly made their way to the sonar indicator which showed that a large object was approaching shore _very_ quickly off the coast of Sendai. Ken walked over to it as well and checked the screen to make sure it was reading correctly.

*Ping*

"If it's Godzilla he's moving much faster than usual." Keiichi remarked.

"No kidding." Ken agreed.

*Ping*

"He's almost off the radar already." Keiichi said.

"He has to be going at least sixty knots to be going through that quickly." Ken said.

*Ping*

…

…

Gone.

"He's off radar already." Keiichi said slowly.

"Yeah, and we're not sticking around here." Ken said as he patten Keiichi's shoulder.

"Right behind you boss." He said as he closed his laptop.

Ken went to Akiko's door and knocked on it a few times.

"Akiko, Godzilla just showed up off the coast of Sendai and he's moving at about sixty knots. Whatever he's going for has to be important. Keiichi and I are leaving. You coming?" He asked.

There was silence for a brief moment before she opened the door and walked out, her eyes swollen and slightly red from how much she had been crying. Ken embraced her in a hug and rubbed her head as she buried her face in his chest.

"I know, I miss them too. We'll get them back somehow. I promise." He said softly.

She nodded against him and then backed out of the hug.

"Let's go." She said through a sob.

The crew piled into the RV and took off down the road to Sendai. The trip would be a few hours long, but they had a full tank of gas and Ken was paying very little attention to traffic laws on his way as he ran through a few red lights and sped through every street on the way to the highway before he floored it. Going down the highway at about 80 miles per hour, Ken sped through towards Sendai. Remarkably there were no policemen who saw him doing this, and every time he saw one he slowed down just long enough to get passed them safely before he sped back up.

Back at the base, Harmony was laying down on her bed and was nearly asleep when a series of loud knocks came at her door. She started and got up immediately to answer.

"What's going on?" She asked as she opened the door.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry to disturb you but Godzilla has just made landfall on the shoreline." He said.

"WHAT?!" She yelled as she pushed him out of the way and ran to her command platform.

Godzilla was on the screen and was walking with great purpose as he made his way inland. He was heading on a direct collision course with their base, and Harmony knew that they didn't have the time they were hoping for and so she decided the time was now.

"Start phase one!" She ordered.

"Yes ma'am." Came a response from everyone present in the room.

Godzilla made his way through the rural areas and into the city as he made a beeline for the base. He headed through the city without any second thoughts or hesitations and made his way through to the Izumi Ward section where he stopped and looked around. He knew he was close, and all of a sudden he began to sense a vibration in the ground behind him. It was producing an uncomfortable rumble, so he moved forward a few steps. He looked around, but he still couldn't see anything. He started turning around and as he took a single step back the way he came towards the ocean he was hit with a barrage of ultrasonic waves. He stumbled back and the sounds stopped. He shook it off and turned away from where the sounds came from.

He took a few more steps inland and the ground started to feel different. Then, it started to open up beneath his feet. Godzilla stepped away from the opening ground, but it was no use as it opened up faster than he could move and he fell down a long deep pit. He fell for a good five seconds before hitting the ground, and when he did he could feel he had damaged his left shoulder in the fall. He stood up, taking care to keep all weight off of his now wounded shoulder as he looked around. There were no lights anywhere save above him, but those too were snuffed out as the ground closed and trapped him down below. He let out a roar of fury until the lights all came on at once.

Godzilla reeled from the lights and backed away from them, but when he did he ended up getting bombarded with more ultrasonic waves. He shrieked in agony as he backed away from them and shook his head to clear it. When he opened his eyes, he saw hundreds of humans around tiny lights on the ground and a blue light surrounding the surface he was standing on. He walked forward towards the blue light and was hit with ultrasonic waves once again as he stepped on it and he had to back away. He looked around and saw he was surrounded by the light which meant he was trapped inside. He tried walking the perimeter, but it was no use. Every time he stepped on the light, he was wrapped in pain so intense he could not stand it.

Harmony stood on her control platform and looked up at Godzilla with pride as she closed her eyes.

_Welcome Godzilla to your new home. I know it might not look all that comfortable right now, but you will get used to it._

Godzilla looked down at Harmony and growled while bearing his teeth.

"M-Maybe you shouldn't provoke him ma'am." One of her computer techs said.

"I know his limits. Have some faith. He's not going anywhere and he knows to behave. After all…"

_That blue light can expand._

Godzilla let out a roar of defiance before laying down on the ground as carefully as possible. As he closed his eyes Harmony walked forward towards his enclosure and looked at him up close. She was amazed at how beautiful he was to her. It was even better than she had imagined. He was so regal and intense, she almost couldn't stand it. She was brought back to reality though when one of her guards told her to give him some distance as there was risk of radioactive exposure and sickness if she got too close. She backed away and went back to her control platform as she watched him sleep.

"I've finally done it." She said quietly to herself.

Godzilla slept soundly while Harmony marveled at her success, but while this was going on, something else was beginning to happen within the base.

Miki's mind was a blur of strange emotions which she knew weren't her own. With all of her will power she forced them from her mind and opened her eyes as she realized she was back in her room. She sat up slowly, shaking her head and clearing her mind of whatever that wretched woman had done to her. She looked around and realized Sayuri was not there. Immediately she began to panic, but she quickly realized that would get her nowhere. She sat down and closed her eyes, letting out a single breath to calm herself as she reached out to Sayuri.

_Sayuri, can you hear me?_ She asked.

…

_Sayuri, can you hear me?_ She asked again.

… _Yes Miki, I can hear you. What do we do? They locked me in another room?_ Sayuri asked.

_Stay calm Sayuri, I have an idea._ She told her as she opened her eyes.

She walked to her door and looked at the door. She closed her eyes and focused on the lock which she knew was on the other side of the door and concentrated on it. Slowly, it turned and she heard the "click" of the door coming unlocked. She smiled to herself as she opened the door and walked outside very slowly and very cautiously. She snuck through the hallways passed the occasional guard patrols as she made her way to Sayuri's room using her thought waves as a guide to locate her. When Miki found her door, she unlocked it and let Sayuri out. The girl hugged Miki and the two of them made their way back through the corridors to the main room where the saw Godzilla laying down in the Kaiju containment area.

Miki's heart dropped the instant she saw him there, but she was not about to just leave him there. Miki had Sayuri hide with her just around the corner behind some metal crates as she formulated a plan to get him out.

_I have an idea Sayuri, but it's going to be dangerous. If I can make it to Harmony's control panel I can turn off the field of ultrasonic waves so Godzilla can get out._

_You can't do that! You'd be caught before you got anywhere close!_

_No I won't, I have an idea remember? Look, just leave that part to me and you stay here and stay hidden alright?_

_What will you do once the field is off? You know he's going to get out of there as fast as he can once he realizes it's gone right?_

_Yes, I know… I'm working on that._

_You're 'working on that?'… Be careful Miki, please._

_I will, don't worry._

Miki crawled away and made her way towards the main floor as she began plotting her course. She was only 5', so she was small and could stay low to the ground. Everyone was so busy minding their computers that none of them noticed her crawling around low to the ground on the side farthest from Godzilla. Everyone took occasional glances at him so staying on the side farthest from him was the best move. She moved slowly and silently until she reached the end of the room where she had a fairly straight shot to the control platform, but the problem was that Harmony was still sitting there and Miki couldn't wait there forever. She'd be spotted eventually, so she had to move.

Miki took her chance when one of the guards moved away and ran to the base of the control platform where she huddled down and hid beneath another couple crates like this Sayuri hid under. She waited for a few minutes as she tried to listen in on Harmony's conversations, but not much of it made it through to her. Instead, she continued to wait as she watched Harmony begin moving towards Godzilla again. She was walking slowly and looked to be going up real close to him to get a good look, so Miki stole her chance and made her way to the platform and tried to locate the controls for the field, but everything was foreign to her. She didn't know what to look at or why, and Harmony wouldn't be gone long so she made her way back down to the ground beneath the platform and hid as Harmony started walking back to the platform.

Frustrated, Miki could think of only one last option. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard on Godzilla as she let out a small silent breath.

_Godzilla, can you hear me?_ She asked.

Godzilla stirred in his sleep, opening one eye just enough to glance at the platform.

_This is Miki. Please let me help you. That blue field is generating the sounds that hurt you, but you can defeat it if you destroy the platform I am sitting under._

Godzilla closed his eye.

_Godzilla, do not be afraid. I promise that if you destroy this platform the sounds will stop. Please, trust me._

Godzilla's eye opened once more and his head came up a little bit as he looked at the platform.

… _Trust me…_ She pleaded.

Godzilla slowly stood up, still taking care to keep weight off of his shoulder while he got to his feet. Miki took her chance and opened her eyes as she made a bolt away from the platform. Amazingly nobody saw her as she made her way back towards Sayuri's position while Godzilla began powering up his breath attack. Everyone in the room was immediately on alert and yelling things out incoherently as they all tried to find a way to get away from what was about to come. Harmony got off her platform as Godzilla started to let loose, but she was moving fairly slowly. Godzilla's breath attack went off, but blew up right in his face against the invisible wall of ultrasonic waves.

Harmony smirked.

_Nice try Godzilla, but those waves are also attuned to the exact frequency of your breath attack. You'll not escape us that easily._ She mocked.

Godzilla growled at her and began charging his attack again. She shook her head, but Godzilla was no fool. He leaned forward and winced against the pain of the ultrasonic waves, and though he could barely focus through it he was able to target the platform and let fly with his head just outside the field. Harmony's smirk slowly disappeared as Godzilla let fly wildly across the room through the pain of the ultrasonic field and the struck the platform and Harmony along with it. The platform blew up and the rest of the room which was struck by the beam was destroyed as well. Miki and Sayuri on the other end of the room were fairly safe ducked behind their crates, but they were bounced around a little bit though they suffered no serious injuries.

As Godzilla collapsed to the ground and shook off the shock of what he had just one, he realized that the field was indeed gone as Miki had said. He slowly staggered to his feet as the rest of the humans around the room scattered and tried to run away. Miki and Sayuri decided to simply get up and escape with them in the confusion as they knew the way out when the girls didn't. They all made it outside safely where Miki and Sayuri found a place to hide from the guards and other members of this underground organization. They waited until they had all disappeared and then started to walk away down the road towards Tokyo together as they felt the ground begin to quake. They looked over their shoulders and saw Godzilla's breath attack burst forth from underground and caused a large explosion which led to his freedom on the surface.

As the girls walked away, they looked over their shoulders and watched Godzilla walk away towards the ocean. Along the way, they saw the RV driving along the road towards Sendai and they waved their arms to the others who instantly skidded to a halt and pulled the RV over to rush out and embrace them. Akiko grabbed both Miki and Sayuri and hugged them both very tightly as she cried in happiness at their being alright. Ken and Keiichi waited until Akiko had her fill and gave the girls a hug as well before they all got into the RV and drove home together. Godzilla made it safely back into the sea, and all was right with the world for the time being.

Miki had a feeling it would not last though, as Harmony had mentioned that Miki and Sayuri actually were recruited by the government for their abilities but that she had gotten to them first.

They weren't out of this yet.


	20. Chapter 20 - A Colossal Problem

The air was still and the night was quiet throughout the city of Saito. A young boy wandered through the streets taking in the night air as he walked along edge of the Omaru River. The water was clean and clear with a slight sparkle from the light of the moon above with a gently flowing breeze caressing his face. He watched the river flowing and listened to its calming harmony as it chimed in with the symphony of nature around him. The sounds of the animals joined in the chorus of the night to further instill a sense of security and serenity in the sleepy city as the child turned back and began his trek home.

Then, a tremor beneath his feet stopped him in his tracks. It was subtle, but the ground had indeed shaken under his feet. The child was still for several moments, but nothing happened again so he continued on his way. Another tremor shook the ground, this time worse, and he had to steady himself against it. He looked around but still he couldn't see anything. The ground shook again with even more force than last time and the child was knocked off his feet. Nearby a man and woman exited their house thinking it was the beginning of an earthquake and saw the child and called to him. However, the child was not paying attention and instead kept his eyes on the mountains behind him. There was a large wall of dust charging towards the city with great speed and the child was now frozen in fear as the adults yelled to him and tried to get him to get out of the way.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The wall of dust engulfed the child as the adults looked on helplessly as the dust cloud made its way towards their home. They ran to the side and out of the way before their house, along with all the others in the dust clouds path were engulfed and destroyed as the ground caved and the streets split under the sudden disappearance of the earth beneath them. As the dust storm moved away and the dust kicked up by its passing began to settle, the two adults looked around at the destruction caused by the passing of whatever was underground and saw the body of the child not far away. His lifeless form dangled limply on the edge of a caved in tunnel beneath what was once a street.

They thought about approaching to help him, but it was quite obvious by the red pool beneath his body and the limp form that he was beyond saving. They looked at the devastation done to their home and their hearts dropped. Their house was gone, literally just gone. The ground beneath was missing and the house itself had disappeared into the cavernous depths below.

"What have we done to deserve this?" The man asked.

His wife only shook her head as they stood together and watched the source of the flying dust and debris move away into the distance.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Ken was watching a news report on the incident with Keiichi sitting next to him while the girls all rested in the RV and Akiko in her room. The two of them looked at each other for a moment and looked back at the tv.

"The trail of dust continues to move along through the city of Satio towards Mt. Wanitsuka leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. We have no word on what could be causing this, but unconfirmed reports of a monster known as Burtannus have been flowing in. We are continuing our investigation into this matter as the military prepares for a full counterstrike against this creature."

Ken looked over at Keiichi.

"So what now?" He asked.

Keiichi scoffed.

"We get the girls up and go check this out of course. You know that Akiko will not shy away from this now that Miki and Sayuri are here again."

"True, but if we go then there's a chance the military will spot us and insist that Miki and Sayuri go with them. We can't make her lose them like that again."

"Yeah… I guess I hadn't thought of that. We can't go by ourselves though, so what should we do?" He asked.

"Let me get Akiko's opinion and we'll figure this out from there." He said as he got up and walked to her room.

He opened the door and walked inside as he looked down at Akiko who was fast asleep. Ken gently shook her shoulder until she woke up, and she looked up at him angrily with a groggy face.

"You know that if this becomes commonplace you can kiss the marriage goodbye." She grumbled.

Ken chuckled.

"Burtannus just showed up in Saito and ran amok before going into the mountains nearby. Do you want to go check it out?"

Akiko rubbed her eyes.

"Burtannus… Oh!" She yelled as she snapped to attention.

Akiko leaped out of bed, still in her night clothes, and ran to her closet to put her normal clothes on.

"What are you doing just standing there?!" She yelled.

"Go wake up the girls and let's get going!" She ordered.

Ken blinked, but laughed right afterwards.

"She's back." He said as he walked out the door to go wake up the girls.

Everyone piled into the RV and took off for Saito. The trip would be long, but from the news reports it didn't seem like Burtannus was going anywhere. The dust had settled in the nearby mountainside and had not been seen since which gave Akiko and the others the impression that it was either taking a pit stop or that it had chosen to settle there for the time being. In either case, it was bad news for the locals given the destruction to the city thus far. Something else which made things far more interesting was that it appeared as though Godzilla was once again on a collision course with Burtannus as he'd been sighted out to sea heading straight for Saito.

"How does he always seem to know what's going on?" Ken asked Akiko.

Akiko looked back at Miki, but the girl only shrugged and Akiko couldn't help but smile and shake her head.

"Who knows, but if he's going for a fight then we'd better find a safe place to set up shop unlike Hana did in the mountains when Burtannus first appeared against Mothra." She said.

As the long trip drew to a close and night began to descend the team finally arrived in Saito. A surprise traffic jam going towards Saito from commuters who were told to turn back was a bit of a problem, but they managed to talk their way passed the road block and continued on into the city thanks to Keiichi's charms. Akiko called it his "lucky streak", but he liked to think that he was just charming as it irritated Akiko to no end. A guy's got to have some fun every now and then right?

As the team set up shop on a nearby parking garage, they had Keiichi and Sayuri keep an eye out for Godzilla by the sea as Ken, Akiko and Miki watched the mountains in the distance. There was no dust trail, and the rest of the city seemed completely deserted which was good because that meant fewer to no human casualties unlike some of Godzilla's more recent endeavors. Miki was still concerned about his shoulder from his fall, but if his healing after the fights with King Ghidorah were any indication his body would be back to normal in no time. Still, she worried about him.

"So, if he does show up what do you think he's going to do?" Ken asked.

"If I know Godzilla's behavioral patterns as well as I think I do, he'll blast the mountainside to try and force Burtannus out into the open for a fight. Godzilla may be smart, but he's also a fighter so I doubt he'll take the easy route and talk things over." Akiko remarked.

"Akiko, this is no time for jokes." Ken admonished.

"I'm not joking. Godzilla isn't one for a peaceful solution in case you hadn't noticed. He's a fighter, and if Burtannus in encroaching on his territory then I've no doubts that his first instinct is to protect it and drive Burtannus out of here. I doubt he'll try communication before confrontation Ken."

Ken sighed and nodded, admitting that she had a point. While Godzilla was proven to be intelligent and capable of complex thought and emotion, he was still an animal, and a very territorial one at that given how quickly and violently he'd attacked the other monsters who took refuge within Japan or its coastal waters. There were reports that some kind of giant marine octopus creature over seventy meters long had washed ashore with bad burns and numerous tentacles ripped off not long before Miki and Sayuri's capture. Akiko didn't quite know what to make of it at first, but after viewing the remains she had no doubt that it was Godzilla's handiwork.

As Ken, Akiko and Miki looked on there was a sudden chill which slithered down Miki's spine. She didn't know what caused it or why it happened at all, but she suddenly got the feeling that something was very wrong. She looked back at Sayuri who was looking at her with a knowing expression indicating she felt the same thing. They both looked to Akiko and told her what had just happened and how they were feeling, and no sooner had they finished than a familiar roar from the ocean echoed out across the city.

Godzilla had arrived.

He was waist deep in the bay not far from shore and lumbering purposefully towards the mountains that the team had been watching. Godzilla could obviously sense Burtannus' presence there, otherwise he'd not have bothered continuing his march onto shore. Godzilla made landfall a few moments later, trampling a few houses and apartments along the edge of the city before making his way through the rural districts towards the mountains. The team winced at his disregard for what he walked on, but at the same time they couldn't exactly blame him for placing priority on Burtannus as it was obviously the more immediate concern. Godzilla's approach seemed rather intent, more so than usual, and the team began to suspect that Miki and Sayuri's little feeling was more than just a feeling.

Godzilla made his way through the city with the team in hot pursuit en route to a new observational location as Godzilla stomped out into the forested region beyond the city limits as he made his way to the base of the nearby mountains. He stopped and looked at them, analyzing them for a few minutes which gave the team time to set up not far away and continue their own analysis of what was happening. Godzilla's eyes landed on a particular section of the mountain, and as he began rearing his head back his dorsal plates lit up and he let fly with his radioactive burst stream attack. The blast struck the mountainside with deadly force causing it to explode on contact which blew away nearly 35% of the entire base of the mountain along the path of his blast. Godzilla stopped his attack and roared our furiously at Burtannus whom he knew was somewhere inside, and a low bellowing noise responded to his challenge.

Slowly, the ground began to shake beneath their feet as the team looked on and Burtannus burst forth from the mountainside. Its eyes appeared almost bloodshot as a small amount of saliva dripped from its mouth as it continued bellowing at Godzilla who roared back at it in defiance as they prepared to fight. Miki and Sayuri could both sense something wrong with Burtannus, and as the fight began it was clear that there was much more going on than what met the eye. Godzilla stormed forwards and tried to lash out with his tail, but Burtannus turned its head and impaled Godzilla's tail on its horn as the monster roared out in pain. Burtannus pulled away and slowly removed its horn from Godzilla's tail as blood trickled down the length of it and poured out of Godzilla's fresh new wound. Burtannus shook its head and charged Godzilla, ramming him at full speed and knocking him to the ground before turning around and whipping its massive, muscular tail into Godzilla's side.

The small spikes on Burtannus's tail left small cuts along Godzilla's sides as it lashed out again and again before Godzilla rolled away and stood up again. He charged his breath attack, but Burtannus lunged him and knocked him to the ground again stopping his attack cold. Burtannus walked over to Godzilla and opened its mouth as it chomped down on his let shoulder sending a new stream of blood into the air as it tightened its jaws around Godzilla's flesh and bone and squeezed its mouth shut. Godzilla's cries of pain filled the night air as Miki began to tear up, turning her head away so she didn't have to see him suffering though nothing could stop her from hearing his agonizing calls. Godzilla looked at Burtannus and blasted it point blank in the face with his beam attack which forced it to back away and shake it off as Godzilla slowly stumbled to his feet.

The damage had been done, however, and Godzilla's left arm was now all but useless as it dangled limply at his side. Burtannus bellowed out at Godzilla as it shook off his previous attack and began to thrash its horn from side to side as it blasted Godzilla mercilessly with its lightning attack. Godzilla again cried out in pain as the attacks struck his body, particularly his wounds, and turned his body away to try and shield himself though there was truly little point as any attempt to turn only made things worse. Godzilla fell to the ground as Burtannus's attacks finally came to an end and it roared out in triumph as Godzilla stood up and walked away.

"… He's retreating?" Ken asked, mouth agape.

"He is…" Akiko said in equal shock.

Everyone's head followed Godzilla as he painfully limped away to the sea and disappeared beneath the waves.


	21. Chapter 21 - An Ill Omen

It was the mismatch of the century less than one hour ago as Akiko and the others sat on the rooftops wondering what in the world happened to Godzilla. Burtannus completely dominated their match, which normally would not happen unless something was ailing Godzilla or if there was some other force at work which had yet to be identified. Akiko watched the footage of the bout over and over again, continually displaying suspicion as she focused in on Burtannus while the others spoke together about possibilities. Keiichi's favorite possibility was the Burtannus was on steroids, to which Ken gave him a punch to the shoulder for joking around.

"You know… He may be on to something." Akiko finally chimed in as she paused the footage on her computer.

"Come over here and look at this." She said as she beckoned the team over.

As they all gathered around Akiko pushed the video clips to full screen.

"Now watch here." She said as she played the first part of the fight where Godzilla's tail was impaled.

"Burtannus's movements are very mechanical and unnatural for a creature of its body type and temperament. From what little we have gathered, Burtannus is content to just dig its home underground and not bother anyone, but this time it came out to look for a fight. The last time it was in Godzilla's vicinity it completely avoided him, so what changed?" She asked.

"We don't know enough about Burtannus to assume such things Akiko." Ken said.

"No, she's right Ken. We've got enough data and evidence to support her claim. Burtannus has never attacked a city before today, never gone out of its way to look for a fight, and never done anything but dig and dig and dig until it found a place to settle. I think Akiko's got the right idea. Something isn't right with Burtannus."

Ken looked at the video again and began to notice another recurring trend in Burtannus's behavior during the fight as he made Akiko start the film over again.

"… Burtannus twitched its head every time Godzilla began to attack. Not only that, but look at its face. Its eyes are rolled back into its head half the time and its drooling as if it's in a comatose state." He remarked as he finally began to see that Akiko was right.

"Then its settled." Akiko declared.

"What's settled?" Sayuri asked cautiously.

"We're going into Burtannus's tunnels to find it and give it a thorough examination." Akiko said as she started packing up her gear.

"Excuse me?" Keiichi asked.

"You heard me. Pack your gear and let's get a move on. Burtannus isn't radioactive like Godzilla is so approaching it should be safe enough. I just need to get close enough to see what's going on." She said.

Ken was about to protest, but when he thought about Burtannus's eyes rolled back into its head he began to think it wasn't such a bad idea even if it was completely crazy. Reluctantly, the team gathered in the RV and drove out to Burtannus's dig site before parking the RV nearby and exiting with a small amount of gear that they could all hold onto. Now on foot, the team ventured forth into the lair Burtannus had made for itself. As they entered the enormous cave system it had carved out, they began to notice that it was moving in very precise angles as opposed to the erratic and random patterns of natural animal behavior. A near perfect right angle was formed in one area not far from the entrance, and that was a big red flag for Akiko and the others as they proceeded with extreme caution.

Along the way, they followed the trail of saliva and the foul odor emanating from the beasts lair before Ken turned one final corner and threw his hand back to stop the rest of the team. As they all peeked around the corner, there was Burtannus laying on its side. Its eyes were still rolled into the back of its head and it was still drooling with a glazed and comatose look in its eyes as it labored to breath. Akiko walked ahead despite Ken's silent warnings and looked up at the poor creature as the rest of the team began to gather around her.

"Okay, I'm going up to take a look. You guys take some pictures down here and see what else you can find." She whispered.

The team all nodded in agreement as she began to scale Burtannus's hide towards its head while the others began to document the find. Keiichi took pictures while Ken filmed the event. The girls extended their thoughts to Burtannus to try and figure out what was wrong, but the only thing they could pick up from its thoughts was the equivalent of static on a television set. No coherent thoughts or single ideas that they could latch onto which meant that something was interfering with its brainwaves.

As Akiko climbed aboard Burtannus's head, she noticed something strange going on near what had to be its ears. As she got closer she saw a shining silver object deep within the ear canal with a small pulsing red light. She took some photographs of it as it was much too big for her to remove by hand, and climbed back down to get some close ups of its eyes, nose and mouth before getting down to inform the rest of the team what she had found. When she showed the pictures to the group Burtannus began to stir which forced them to pack up and start leaving… quickly. They rounded the corner as they heard it take a single step with a loud groaning sound while they sprinted for the exit. Turn by turn, they could feel Burtannus lumbering behind them.

Finally, the entrance came into view. However, so had Burtannus. The creature was walking towards them and the exit as they sprinted for it, and it became quite clear that they were not going to make it outside before Burtannus did. Ken led the group to a small crevice near the edge of the cave and they all huddled in close together as Burtannus walked by. Its tail narrowly missed swiping the wall above the group which could have crushed them under the weight of the debris, but thankfully it had retracted its tail before that had happened. Burtannus walked out into the night as the team let out a collective sigh of relief.

"… Keiichi, is there any particular reason your hand is on my chest?" Sayuri asked.

Keiichi looked down and realized that he had accidentally groped Sayuri's left breast with his hand as they had all huddled together and pulled his hand away.

"Sorry!" He said with a bow of his head.

Sayuri giggled a little bit, but still punched him in the head to let him know not to do that again.

The group walked outside to try and see where Burtannus had gone, and oddly enough it was heading out to sea. It followed Godzilla's trail of destruction through the city and waded into the water and began to swim away as the team made it to the RV and began to drive towards it. Without a way to catch Burtannus, all they could do was wonder what was going on as they all began to fear for Godzilla's safety. If Burtannus decided to attack him now in his weakened state there was a serious possibility that he could be killed, especially if Akiko's new theory was correct.

As they all drove back to Tokyo in the RV, Akiko told them all of a new experiment that a colleague of hers had been a part of before it was scrapped and prohibited as "unlawful" by the government. They used lab rats and pigs as test subjects for a new kind of brainwave inhibitor which could effectively wipe their minds clean of thought which left their brains exposed and prone to invasive thoughts and suggestions. One such subject was even made to attack and kill one of its fellow subjects by little more than a single whisper of "kill it." Akiko showed them the pictures of the device in Burtannus's ear again and they all began to suspect that the brainwave inhibitor device was at fault. It was confirmed by Sayuri and Miki that Burtannus had no coherent thought patterns for them to latch onto and connect with it, and that all but finalized the theory into a fact as Akiko made a call to a friend of hers in the US who possibly could help.

"What does she do again?" Keiichi asked as Akiko finished the call.

"She's… in acquisitions." Akiko responded.

"What kind of acquisitions?" Keiichi asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it. Just know that she might be able to help us. She might not though too, so don't be too disappointed if she can't help." Akiko said.

"Fair enough. So what do we do now?" Ken asked.

"You keep your eyes on the road." Akiko said to him as she pinched his cheek.

Ken grumbled as Keiichi and the others all laughed to themselves on their way back. Not too long after unloading all of their gear at base and sitting down to relax Akiko got a call back from her friend.

"… Oh really?" Akiko asked.

"Thanks Julie. I'll be in touch." She said as she hung up the phone.

"Well, it turns out that we were right. The Japanese government publicly condemned the research of the brainwave inhibitor, but they have apparently adopted it for private military use and experimentation. Burtannus is one of their lab rats." She said.

Ken sat back in his chair and let out a breath.

"If they get one of those things into Godzilla, we're screwed." He said quietly.

"No joke. The Japanese government might want most monsters destroyed publicly, but privately if they know they can control them and use them as weapons, they'll jump on it like any other government would. We have to find a way to stop this from getting any father out of hand." Keiichi chimed in.

Akiko nodded.

"But how do we get that thing out of Burtannus's ear?" She asked.

Miki raised her hand.

"I don't think we can, but I might be able to get Godzilla to do it if I send him a mental picture of it." She said.

Akiko snapped her fingers as she went to her phone and hooked it up to her computer and began to print the pictures she took of Burtannus's ear and the device inside it. She took the first one that came out of the printer and handed it to Miki.

"Memorize this picture and we'll give your method a try. It's the best thing we have next to climbing onto Burtannus and using a pickaxe to try and break it, but at least your way gives us some distance as a safety net in case things go wrong." Akiko said.

Miki put the picture down and began to study the image as Keiichi got to work calling his friend Ueda to try and see if he had a boat they could use. He had a sub after all, why not a boat? Once the call was finished, Keiichi was happy to report that Ueda had one which they could use so long as they paid him for the time they kept it which was a fair bargain. They all piled into the RV and took off to find Ueda. The next day they were on board his boat and headed out to sea in search of Godzilla with Miki and Sayuri working together to track him down to the best of their ability. It was slow going, but Miki finally picked up on a thought pattern she believed to have been coming from Godzilla.

The boat stopped even though they were in the middle of nowhere and they kept still and quiet as Miki and Sayuri extended their power to try and locate where the thought was coming from. It was one of pain, and a lot of it, and they were hoping that it was Godzilla given his injuries from his previous fight. Another thought began to emerge as they concentrated on the first, and it was one of discomfort. Miki and Sayuri did their best to find out what was causing it, but after only a few moments everything went static as it had been with Burtannus. No coherency or solid thoughts which could be located or latched onto as they desperately tried to find _something_ they could work with. However, the boat's sonar began going off like wildfire as a mass began to rise from the depths of the ocean towards the surface right underneath them.

Ken powered up the boat and kicked it into full throttle, but even then he only just narrowly missed having Godzilla's spines rip the boat right in two as they were thrown about at the mercy of the waves created by his body rising to the surface. As the boat stilled and they finally managed a moment to look at Godzilla, the team was horrified to see that he was being affected the same way Burtannus had been. His eyes were rolled back into his head and his mouth was slightly agape with saliva dripping down with his wounds still only just beginning to show signs of healing as they continued to bleed out into the water around him. His left arm still dangled limply at his side indicating that it was likely broken as opposed to just injured as previously thought, and to make matters worse they could all see that same device planted within his ear canal as he sank down into the ocean once more and began to swim away.

"… Does anyone else get the feeling that this is not going to end well?" Keiichi asked.

"That is the understatement of the century." Akiko remarked.

"No kidding… Especially if those who are doing this have any kind of beef with any other nations or peoples around the world which I'm sure they do. Otherwise, they wouldn't be taking such high level risks as this." Ken added.

Miki watched Godzilla disappear from radar with tears falling down her cheeks and Sayuri wrapped her arms around her and tried to comfort her as Ken was forced to turn the boat around and head back to Tokyo due to them running low on fuel and supplies.

"This blows." Keiichi said.


	22. Chapter 22 - A Conflict Looming

It was everyone's worst nightmares come to life. Burtannus had simply been a test dummy for the device known as the brainwave inhibitor and had since been abandoned to its fate. What became of Burtannus after it waded out into the sea after Godzilla was anyone's guess, but many assumed that it was either dead or dying from the after effects of the brainwave inhibitor. Akiko and the others had a few theories about what was going on with Burtannus, but they were more concerned with Godzilla's fate since he swam off into the ocean with the same brainwave inhibitor tucked within his ear.

Akiko and Keiichi had been hard at work trying to figure out what to do about the brainwave inhibitor as Miki and Sayuri's abilities were now worthless so long as Godzilla's mind was turned to mush. Keiichi had come up with a rather dangerous suggestion of trying to blast it off with something, but the chances that Godzilla's head would remain still long enough for such a thing to happen was rather slim so the idea was rejected. Even if the military launched a full on assault on Godzilla, there was a very low probability that they would succeed in removing the device from within his ear canal.

"We have to do something." Keiichi said quietly.

"If I had a yen for every time I heard that…" Akiko muttered.

"Akiko, don't get snippy at Keiichi. We're all on edge here." Ken commented.

"I'm not being snippy, I'm being sarcastic. There's a difference." She snapped.

"A very minuscule difference." Ken remarked.

"Is it okay for you to do it to me then?" She asked as she looked over at Ken.

"I'm not doing it to you." He said.

"Not at the moment, but you've done it before."

"Not about this issue I haven't." He retorted.

Akiko grumbled as Ken looked to his computer while Keiichi got up and started pacing. Sayuri was sitting nearby trying to think of a way to make herself useful, and Miki was burying her face in her arms trying to avoid the conversation altogether. Miki's primary concern wasn't about how to get that device off of Godzilla, it was how to keep him safe while doing it. Anything involving the military was a mistake in her eyes, and putting the team in harms way by getting too close to Godzilla's radioactive body was also out. She had wracked her brain trying to think of some way to help Godzilla _and_ her team, but she was left with more questions than answers in regards to a successful solution to the problem.

As everyone continued to try and figure out what to do, arguments continued to surface as the team members threw ideas and accusations out at each other for several minutes.

_Friends… Can you hear our voices?_

Everyone stopped.

_We apologize for listening in, but we felt we had to speak to you about the current state of Godzilla_.

Miki and Sayuri closed their eyes and calmed themselves as they listened to the Shobijin.

"Do you know something we don't about this?" Akiko asked.

_Yes._

"Well do tell please. The longer we waste time the more the world suffers because of Godzilla attacking cities around the world under the influence of this new brainwave inhibitor."

_Indeed, and we have a potential solution to the issue. Your military is not powerful enough to destroy the device, but Mothra is. She is newly evolved and took to the air for the first time just this morning. Please leave everything to Mothra for now and Godzilla will be back to normal in no time._

"What about Burtannus?" Miki asked.

_Burtannus recovered from the ordeal and is back underground where she belongs. You needn't fear for her safety._

"She?" Keiichi asked.

_Yes. Burtannus is female._

"Oh… Well okay." Keiichi responded.

_Be well friends, and stay safe. Mothra will engage Godzilla in combat this evening when he makes his way to Kyoto via Ise Bay. Until then friends._

"Wait, I have another question…" Ken said.

Silence.

"Damn!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Akiko asked.

"I was going to ask how Mothra planned on getting to the device. It's not exactly sitting outside in the open like it was for Burtannus. Godzilla has an ear canal which is protecting the majority of it. Also, whoever put it there seems to have some kind of influence on Godzilla's actions like they did with Burtannus. If they know Mothra is aiming for it, they'll protect it however they can and that may be problematic for Godzilla." He said.

"… You're right. We need to get to Kyoto as fast as possible." Akiko said.

"We'll never make it there by tonight. We have no choice but to wait and hope for the best. I have a friend who lives there who I can contact to give us the play by play, but we'll never reach Kyoto by the time Mothra and Godzilla do."

"Son of a-" Akiko began.

"Maybe we don't have to contact your friend." Miki interrupted.

Everyone looked to her.

"I think I have an idea. Sayuri, could you come here please?" She asked.

Sayuri approached as Miki reached out and took her hands.

"I am not sure if this will work, but we may be able to tap into Mothra's thoughts. Godzilla's are scrambled, but we may be able to connect with Mothra. Our powers have developed quite a bit lately with our continued use of them, so I think we can do this." She said.

Sayuri nodded slowly, wondering silently if this would work.

"Well, give it a try." Akiko said.

Miki and Sayuri nodded as they closed their eyes and calmed their minds. They first connected with each other, then extended their thoughts to Mothra as they held the image of her last known form. Several minutes passed without anything happening, but as they were about to stop they finally felt Mothra's presence and managed to tap into her thoughts as Miki had said. After another minute or two of getting used to the change, they finally saw the world through Mothra's eyes. She was sitting on s massive altar with native below her praying to her as she waited for the right time to take wing.

"When they said she was newly evolved, they meant it. She looks completely different than before." Miki said softly.

"What does she look like?" Ken asked.

"Her eyes are a greenish blue coloration and her wings now have different patterns as well. It's almost like green fire over a black background with a few strands of orange with red, white and orange circles on the tips of her forewings. Her antennae are a bit thicker and her head has a black streak through it."

"I have an idea." Sayuri said.

"Everyone close your eyes and concentrate on Miki and I. I think you can see what we do if you relax yourselves and concentrate."

Everyone closed their eyes and took in slow and steady breaths. Surely enough, they were able to lock onto the vision which Sayuri and Miki were holding for them.

"… She's beautiful." Akiko said.

"Yeah… She looks like a completely new monster from her mother." Ken added.

"I like this one more to tell the truth. She looks cooler." Keiichi remarked, earning him a small punch in the arm from Akiko.

"What?" He asked.

"Don't disrespect the previous Mothra like that." She said.

"Sorry." He replied.

"Miki, keep tabs on Mothra from time to time and let us know when she's taken flight. We'll keep an eye out for Godzilla on our equipment to help you out." Ken said.

Miki nodded.

Everyone got to work on their respective job while Miki and Sayuri kept tabs on Mothra. It was several hours before Godzilla finally came close enough to landfall before Mothra took off and headed for Kyoto. It was at that moment that Miki had a thought. She closed her eyes and focused no the Shobijin.

_Can you hear me? _She asked.

…_. Yes, Miki. What do you need?_ Came a response.

_How did you know Godzilla would head for Kyoto?_ She asked.

… _We have our ways, Miki. For your own safety we must keep that information to ourselves for the time being. We are sorry._

_I understand._ Miki responded as she focused again on Mothra.

Mothra was flying at a steady pace towards land as Godzilla continued to set off sensors around Ise Bay. Throughout the last several weeks Ken and Keiichi had pooled their finances and invested in several dozen extra sensors which they'd placed all along the coastline to prepare for the inevitable. Godzilla had tripped their two sensors already on his way through Ise Bay towards Kyoto. He made landfall at 7:30pm as Mothra found her way across the sea to Japan. She made it to land near Tokyo on her way towards Godzilla's location. If what Miki said about her speed was true, she'd reach him in about fifteen minutes.

"Not long now…" Akiko said as she and the others all closed their eyes to watch Mothra's approach to what was now a burning, exploding horizon.


	23. Chapter 23 - Freedom Comes With A Price

The wait was tantalizing and agonizing at the same time. Everyone who watched Mothra as she slowly made her way to Godzilla's position watched for landmarks to try and gauge when she would arrive, but it was no use. She was flying too fast for them to really recognize anything, but soon enough it became clear that she was approaching Godzilla by how she slowed her speed and began to ascend to a higher altitude. Finally, Godzilla came into view just on the edge of Mothra's field of view before she began to descend closer to his position.

"Here we go…" Ken said quietly.

Mothra slowly approached Godzilla who turned his head to look at her. As Mothra drew yet closer so that Godzilla's features were visible to those watching, the sight of the one proud monster broke everyone's heart. His mouth was hanging slightly open with drool and blood dripping from the gums at the base of his teeth, his eyes rolled halfway back into his head and bloodshot, his stance ever so slightly off balance and what was once his roar was reduced to nothing but a pitiful growl. With Godzilla now a shadow of his former self, most of the team thought that Mothra would have an easy time getting rid of the device, but there was one who knew differently.

Mothra came in for her first assault as Godzilla followed her movements and waited patiently for her make a move. Mothra circled once around trying to find a weak point. No such luck. Godzilla's body was armored from head to toe, front to back with a dense hide which thus far only King Ghidorah and Burtannus had pierced with claws and teeth. Mothra was powerful, but there was no way she'd be able to break through his hide with what attacks she had at her disposal. With Mothra still trying to locate a good way to attack, Godzilla then made one for her by firing his atomic ray at her. Mothra was caught off guard by the attack and knocked backwards into the side of a building bringing it to the ground. Mothra managed to get back in the air shortly thereafter, but her right wing had been singed by his attack though it was still airworthy.

Mothra circled around and back towards Godzilla as she took aim with her antennae and let fire at his head. The beams struck him dead on in the face just missing his eyes, but he didn't flinch. In every other known attack on his face he had turned away and protected himself until he'd recovered, but this time he didn't even blink. Right away the team knew that the brainwave inhibitor did more than just tamper with his brainwaves, but allowed some level of control by whoever employed it. As Godzilla no longer even behaved as an animal, but rather a robot, it was clear as day that there was some kind of control going on which meant danger of an unprecedented level for Mothra. Godzilla was powerful as it was, but with humans now controlling him, he was even more so as they could recognize and react to attacks and issues much faster and more precisely than he could naturally.

Mothra began to charge at Godzilla while firing her antennae beams at him, but Godzilla's spines began to glow as he started to rear his head back. He let fly with his atomic ray, but Mothra flung her right wing towards the ground and rolled off to the side narrowly avoiding the attack. In her haste to escape him, however, her left wing struck a building which interfered with her flight path causing her to lose altitude and skim across the roof of another building just ahead. She managed to stay in the air, but only just as Godzilla fired another blast at her back. Mothra managed to once again evade the maneuver, but this time at a higher price. Godzilla's attack was aimed slightly above her head and dragged downward, so she had no choice but to remain low and dodge to the side with the shortest buildings. Unfortunately for her, even the lower buildings were right in her path and she crashed directly into one of them.

Mothra's crash brought he building down around and on top of her as she cried out in pain with Godzilla lumbering over to her position.

"Get up… Get up!" Akiko yelled.

Mothra shook her head and looked up just before seeing Godzilla's foot land in front of her, and she used her left wing as a pivot to launch her body onto its side as Godzilla's foot crashed down where she used to be. As she flipped onto her back, she let loose with a mighty blast on energy from her stomach which struck Godzilla in the face once again and this time he did react. He stumbled away and shook his head as Mothra once again flipped herself over with her wings and took to the air while Godzilla reeled from the shock of the blast. Mothra flew away and circled back around to attack again, but Godzilla whipped his head around and fired a blast directly at her. With desperate times calling for desperate measures, Mothra used her wings to bring a sudden stop to her momentum by flapping them forward and exposing her underside to the blast as she flapped her wings again releasing several hundred spores into the air. The blast struck just in front of her and separated into numerous smaller beams which bounced around as if they were inside an invisible sphere before being deflected out into the surrounding area.

Godzilla roared as Mothra righted herself and continued flying towards him before she arched out and around to circle him again.

"Come on, just give us one clear shot at his right ear!" Keiichi said.

Godzilla however, or rather those controlling Godzilla, were no fools. Godzilla kept his head facing Mothra at all times no matter how fast she circled around even when he had to force himself around which was likely injuring him in the process as his body was not meant to spin and turn as quickly as it was being made to. Mothra continued to circle around, hoping that Godzilla would falter and that her speed would force him to make a mistake and fall so that she'd have a clear shot at the side of his head, but it seemed that it was a fruitless effort as Godzilla kept pace with her at every turn.

Then, a hight pitched noise began to echo through the night air.

Before anyone knew what was happening, that giant bird Godzilla had fought several weeks ago screamed across the sky and rammed the back of Godzilla's head with his armored underbelly knocking him to the ground. Mothra was thankfully out of the way of his charge, and managed to move around to the side of Godzilla's body to see his right ear, but the team and Mothra both were met with a disappointing sight. Godzilla's ear canal was clear of the device which meant that now there was something else going on. Mothra fired at the side of Godzilla's head for good measure, but as was expected there was little response except to anger him as he slowly made it to his feet.

"… How?" Sayuri asked.

"I… Wish I knew." Akiko replied.

This new development was most unwelcome in the eyes of all. Mothra was furious, and the rest of the team whose hearts had already been broken were now even more so. Their spirit and their will to fight had begun to disappear, but thankfully Mothra's resolve was now stronger than ever. The larger device was nowhere to be found, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a source somewhere. For humans to go this far was unforgivable and completely upset the balance of nature and power which the Kaiju of the world represented.

… _This will not stand friends. Mothra will finish this one way or another._ Came the voices of the Shobijin.

They too sounded furious as the rest of the team continued to observe the fight. Miki, however, was done watching. She broke off from the group and sat down in a chair in the corner as silent tears of anger and sorrow flowed down her cheeks. She, like Mothra and the Shobijin, was furious at what these people, whoever they were, had done to Godzilla. While he may have been a Kaiju and had caused destruction, he didn't deserve this. She closed her eyes and laid her head on the table as she let her tears flow while the others continued watching and praying for a positive outcome.

That bird circled back around at high speeds and rammed into Godzilla as he tried to stand which knocked him to the ground again while Mothra hovered over him and began to release lightning from her wings which continually struck Godzilla as he tried to stand. The bird creature flew overhead and watched, waiting to strike again while Mothra blasted Godzilla while at the same time beginning to release that powder from her wings again which proved to be an effective strategy. Godzilla got to his feet and whirled around to face her and fired a blast at point blank range, but it again diffused and rebounded around an invisible sphere before being redirected back at Godzilla himself. To add to this, Mothra was now firing her antennae beams at Godzilla's face since he was right there trying to attack her.

All of this culminated in a single instant of hope for Miki as her eyes shot open and she stood up throwing her chair back to the ground.

"I felt him!" She cried.

The rest of the team was still fixated on the fight, but Miki closed her eyes and tried to reach out to Godzilla. As before, she only felt static and emptiness from his mind, but that single brief instant of connection sparked a new fire inside her and renewed her resolve to hope for a positive outcome. She began to connect with Godzilla, listening to the static and feeling the emptiness as once again there was a brief instant which left as quickly as it came where Godzilla was back in control of his senses. This led Miki to believe that the problem now no longer lay within his ear, but his very brain. She took in a deep breath, and exhaled quietly as she extended her telepathic abilities to search his body for the source of his agony. Using those brief instances of control, she was able to slowly realize that the problem was indeed inside his head and not his ear which confirmed her suspicions that the once enormous device was now much, _much_ smaller and located where human hands could not reach it.

One final instant of control as Mothra continued her assault confirmed for Miki that the device was located in Godzilla's brain. She stopped focusing on the monster and began to focus on his brain itself as she searched for the device, and her search was soon rewarded as she located the device on the outer edge of his frontal lobe which was why he had trouble controlling his own body and making use of voluntary motion. Miki didn't know much about the brain, but she knew enough to understand why its position was causing so many problems. Miki concentrated hard on the device, analyzing it and finally focusing on it so hard that she managed to physically remove it using telekinesis. The device fell to the base of his skull, but at it was still emitting a signal it was still interfering with his brainwaves and his ability to function.

Miki tried to remove it, but she was growing more exhausted by the second. She walked over to Sayuri and shook her arm which forced the girl to stop thinking about the fight and look at Miki.

"I need your help Sayuri. I found it, but I can't move it on my own anymore."

Sayuri nodded, not needing any further encouragement or reasoning to do so. She held Miki's hand and the two of them concentrated hard on the device as they began to slowly lift it up and to the side of his skull where the located a tiny hole in the bone. Judging by the fact that it was still healing, the device had been placed there very recently, otherwise there'd be no hole at all and it would be impossible to remove it. Thankfully, that was not the case as the girls moved it out of the hole in his skull and through his ear canal and outside where they released their control of it and let it fall to the ground at Godzilla's feet. Mothra sensed the change, as did the bird. The bird flew away and Mothra backed off, hovering nearby as she waited to see what Godzilla would do next.

Miki was absolutely exhausted and sweating profusely from her exerted effort, but she was happy that she could remove the device from Godzilla's brain. However, Godzilla was not moving and was lying face down in the ground without the slightest trace of life in him. Miki and the others all concentrated on him to try and see what was wrong, but they could not see anything beyond Godzilla's limp form.

_Friends… We are sorry. It would appear we are too late. The damage is done, and Godzilla does not seem to be recovering from his ordeal._

"But he has to!" Akiko cried out.

"Yeah! What was the point of all this if he doesn't get better?!" Keiichi added.

"He's come to far to die now!" Ken yelled.

… _We are sorry._ The Shobijin said sadly.

Mothra too seemed to be in pain about what happened as she began to cry out over the city as she hovered above Godzilla's crippled form.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Sayuri asked.

_We do not know._ The Shobijin responded.

Miki dropped to her knees as she once again concentrated on Godzilla. She probed his brain for signs of life, but she only got that same feeling of emptiness which had accompanied the static the device was causing. This time though, without the static, there was only emptiness. There were no coherent thoughts or ideas in his mind, no memories or dreams… Only silence. Miki's tears of anger had since given way to sadness as she continued to focus on him as he lay there on the ground, and she began to suspect that there may be something she could do. It was a long shot, as it was only an idea and not something that anyone had ever attempted before. Even the Shobijin likely didn't ever think to do this, but Miki was determined to do whatever she had to in order to help Godzilla.

She closed her eyes, and for Miki, time now stood still.

She locked onto Godzilla and took in a deep breath as she searched his heart and found it to be still. Gathering what strength she had left, Miki focused on his heart and began using telekinesis to force it to beat. Each time she did, it felt like she was being struck in the head with a baseball bat as the strain of trying to force such an enormous object, let alone a Kaiju heart, to do what she wanted was proving more than she could handle safely. Never the less, she continued her struggle.

_Miki…_ The shobijin said.

… _Miki!_ They cried.

The team gathered around Miki and tried to shake her to get her out of it, but she would not lose her focus. She continued her struggle pulse by pulse until at last Godzilla's heart beat on its own without her assistance. As Miki released her control, she collapsed to the ground at her friends feet.

"Miki!" Everyone screamed.

Godzilla's heart beat once… Twice… Three times… Four…

A single wave of air escaped his mouth as he released a breath before the sound of his growl echoed out into the skies. Godzilla's mouth closed as he shook his head and slowly stood up. Mothra flew back to give him some space as he made it to his feet, and as Godzilla stood up he threw his head back and roared up at the skies above.

"Miki! Miki!" Akiko yelled as she shook the unconscious girl in her arms.

"Keiichi, call the hospital right now!" Ken ordered.

"I'm on it!" Keiichi replied as Akiko and Sayuri kept a watch on Miki.

Godzilla looked around to get his bearings before his eyes landed on Mothra who hovered nearby. For a moment it looked as though he was going to attack her, but he then turned away and walked away towards the coast. Mothra called out to him, but he did not reply. Instead, he remained silent as he continued his trek to the ocean.

"Miki! Please for the love of god open your eyes!" Akiko cried.

"Come on Miki. You're stronger than this." Ken added.

… _Miki is in a coma…_ Came the voices of the Shobijin.

"What do you mean a coma?" Akiko yelled.

_The strain on her own heart and mind have forced her into a coma. We warned her about connecting with Godzilla as this is exactly the outcome we feared, though we didn't know it would happen quite like this. We are sorry._

"So what do we do now?" Ken asked.

_Together with Mothra, we will work on a solution as well and do what we can to help her. In the meantime you must continue your current course of action and get her to a hospital._

"Right…" Ken said quietly.

"Just hold on Miki… We're right here and we won't leave you. You hear me? We won't leave you." Akiko said softly as she gently stroked the girl's cheek while wiping away what remained of Miki's tears.


	24. Chapter 24 - The Depths of 'Connection'

… *beep*…

… *beep*…

… *beep*…

The silence in the hospital room was so pure that even the sound of a feather hitting the floor would have been audible. Ken, Akiko, Keiichi and Sayuri all gathered around Miki's comatose form as they tuned out the heart monitor in the background and watched her chest slowly rise and fall thanks to the breathing apparatus attached to her face. She almost didn't even look like Miki anymore. Sayuri held Miki's left hand and Akiko her right hand as they wept silent tears of worry while Keiichi and Ken looked on.

There were no words to be spoken now.

It was then that a light knock came at the door as a nurse entered the room with a clipboard in her left hand and a pen in the other. She walked over to the bedside and bowed to Ken who turned to greet her.

"Please excuse me, but I must document her status." She said quietly.

Ken nodded as he let her pass while she recorded all the numbers and readings on the numerous screens surrounding Miki's bedside. Akiko and Sayuri would not move for her, so she had to work around them before quietly leaving the room once her analysis was complete. Nobody else moved a muscle as she exited the room save for Ken who turned his head towards the heart monitor for a brief moment before looking back at his fallen friend.

The minutes ticked by, changing slowly to hours as the sun set beyond the horizon outside the window and a doctor entered the room to let them know that visiting hours were now over. It took some doing, but Akiko and Sayuri were finally convinced to let go of Miki's hands and leave with Ken and Keiichi as they all walked through the halls and outside the hospital where they all stood silent and still for several minutes.

They didn't know what to do anymore.

Akiko had always said before that no matter what happened they'd continue their research, but now that Miki was in a coma her determination and willpower had drastically decreased. She didn't see the point anymore. Miki had been so instrumental to her ability to understand Godzilla and the other Kaiju that Akiko couldn't see herself continuing on without her. Ken and Keiichi both had grown very fond of Miki as well, and neither one could imagine going to see Godzilla without Miki by their side to connect with the big guy. Sayuri had lost not only a fellow psychic, but a very dear friend as well with whom she shared a very strong sisterly bond with.

Ken was the first to find his feet and began to walk away without a word. Keiichi was the first to follow him, then Sayuri and finally Akiko. Ken didn't know exactly where it was he was going, but he knew that wherever it was would end up being an important location to him. Together the team walked in silence, not saying a word. They walked for nearly three hours before Ken finally came to a stop. When he looked up, he found himself looking at the waters of Sagami Bay where the team had all first encountered Godzilla on their sensors before the first Mothra managed to convince him to swim back out into the ocean. Ken walked up the edge of the water and kicked rock into the bay as the others stood alongside him.

Together they all looked out at the water and remembered that night when they came oh so close to seeing Godzilla for the first time. The waters of the bay were dead calm tonight though, not even a breeze to make the surface ripple. The moon above would normally be considered beautiful and be admired, but tonight it was not even noticed despite it being full and clear on this cloudless night. Everyone stared out at the water, waiting and watching for some kind of sign. They didn't know what they were waiting for, but they knew that they were waiting for _something_.

The minutes ticked by, and the silence was finally broken by the sound of Sayuri beginning to cry. Her tears fell like rivers from her eyes as she fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Try as she might she could not stop, and Akiko's own tears and sobs joined in the mournful chorus of the night as even the two men began to shed silent tears of sorrow in the wake of Miki's absence. Akiko put her hands around Sayuri, but it did nothing to stop the poor girl from crying as Akiko laid her head against the young psychic's and cried with her.

"I want… I want her back!" Sayuri cried out through her sobs.

"… I know Sayuri… I know…" Akiko said softly.

"Miki was the only one who understood me… She was the only one who shared my abilities and helped me to improve on them! Without her I'm… I'm lost!" Sayuri cried.

Akiko had no further words as she could not contain herself any longer. Akiko began to cry harder and was no longer capable of coherent sentences though she tried her best. Ken knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her back as he looked out at the water with Keiichi kneeling down beside Sayuri and putting a hand on her shoulder. They had nothing to offer but to remain silent and let them cry. Though they shared with the girls their tears, they could share no words as neither of them knew what to say. Miki's current condition was not something that any of them had ever expected or known was even possible, and the thought of losing her like this was more than they could bear. The team's morale was broken, and their hearts along with it.

As Sayuri and Akiko continued to cry, Keiichi turned his attention to the waters of Sagami Bay and heard a strange noise echoing out into the night. It was very faint at first, and he couldn't even identify it through the sound of the girls' crying, but it became clear after a minute or two that the source of the sound was something very big. The sound echoed out again, and the girls both stopped crying when they realized what that sound was.

"… Godzilla?" Sayuri asked quietly.

They watched the water and continued to listen as the sounds of Godzilla's cries echoed through their minds. At first they thought it was coming from the air around them, but it was not. The sound of Godzilla roaring out was coming to them from their minds, though none of them knew why.

… _Friends…_ Came the voices of the Shobijin.

The team all started when they heard the tiny girls speak, but the sound of their voices was comforting in its own way

_Tonight, you are not the only ones to mourn. Listen friends… Listen to and remember forever the sound of a Kaiju in mourning…_ They said, their voices fading away into the night.

"He's… Crying." Akiko said softly.

Godzilla's calls began to grow louder as they released into the hearts of the entire team the depths of his sadness. Godzilla's connection to Miki was one of the few connections to _anything_ that he had ever made in this world, and now it was broken. Godzilla may have been a Kaiju, but he was still a living creature with a heart and mind capable of experiencing emotion and all that it implied. Godzilla's voice resonated in the minds and hearts of the team, and they could not help but feel for him as he mourned the loss of his one and only human connection… His one and only friend. The team had no way to connect to him as Miki had. Even Sayuri, despite her psychic powers, had never been able to make that same kind of connection with him as Miki had. The bond between the two was stronger than even most human ties, and for the first time the team realized just how alone Godzilla truly was.

After a few minutes, Godzilla's cries of mourning were slowly replaced by silence. Three roars became two, became one, became none. Silence filled the air and as the team listened and tried to understand what Godzilla was now thinking. They received a rather quick answer though as Godzilla then unleashed a roar of fury. Thanks to the power of the Shobijin, the emotions Godzilla was experiencing had now become their own and every member of the team began to slowly comprehend that the sadness in their hearts had also been replaced by that same fury which now enveloped Godzilla's heart. They all stood up and glared angrily at the sea as they then looked to each other one by one and nodded.

"Time to find the bastards who did this to Miki!" Akiko declared.

"Yeah… If ever there was a time to make good on our word to Miki about making things right, this is it." Keiichi added.

"I'll make some calls and do some research to see if we can't pinpoint the top list of suspects who could make use of this brainwave inhibitor technology. Once we find out who's doing it, I think it's only right that we lead Godzilla to them and let him demonstrate his admiration of their work." Ken said with a slight growl in his voice.

Sayuri walked a bit closer to the water and clasped her hands in front of her chest as she closed her eyes and reached out to Godzilla.

… _I'm no Miki, but I promise you that we will make things right. We're going to find out who did this to you… To both of you… And we're going to make them pay!_ She said to Godzilla.

Godzilla roared in response to Sayuri's statement, and for the first time she could feel a deeper connection being made between herself and Godzilla. If this was anything like what Miki had experienced, it was a glorious and empowering feeling which gave her hope and strength beyond anything she believed herself capable of. Her resolve returned, her tears wiped clear of her face, Sayuri looked back to the others and followed them as they made their way back to their base in Tokyo where they began pouring over their data and making calls to find out who it was who was responsible for Miki's comatose state.

Godzilla, meanwhile, was on the move as well...


	25. Chapter 25 - A Kaiju's Revenge

"Son of a-"

*BANG*

…

"… Dammit…" Ken grumbled.

Akiko knelt down and wrapped her hands around his as blood poured from a now gaping wound on the back of his right hand. Sayuri got the first aid kit as Keiichi started mopping up the blood on the floor while Ken and Akiko stood up to wash off his hand and get ready for Sayuri's first aid.

It had been a long week.

All of their resources, all of their connections, and yet they were unable to find _anything_ that could lead them to the people who had attached the brainwave inhibitor to Godzilla and caused Miki to fall into a coma. Not a thing. Not even a spec of dust to follow which could lead them to the culprits responsible for the atrocities which befell their friends. Sayuri had done her absolute best, but Godzilla it seemed had a different agenda than the rest of the team and had broken contact with the young psychic about three days ago and had since disappeared. During that time the team had contacted the Shobijin and asked them if they knew anything, but they had no answers for the team aside from the fact that they were "following the wrong leads."

Ken had, in his frustration, slammed the back of his hand against one of their monitor screens which shattered and cut his hand when the glass shattered. Sayuri got to work cleaning and dressing his wound as he continued to swear obscenities at his failure to find a trail to the people who had hurt Miki and Godzilla. The team all took blame, not allowing him to place all the responsibility on his own shoulders. They had agreed to talk to one last individual whom they were meeting in two hours in the Tokyo Bay Ariake Washington Hotel lobby. It was an old friend of Ken's, and though he didn't promise any useful information he did say that he had heard of the incident and was willing to help out.

The team gathered everything they believed they'd need and headed out to find Ken's old friend Hideki Kobayashi. The trip down to the hotel didn't take long, but when they arrived they were about forty five minutes ahead of schedule. They sat down and waited until Hideki showed up, and when he did he was carrying a laptop with him as he and Ken shook hands and Ken introduced him to everyone.

"So Hideki, what do you have for us?" Ken asked as he and Hideki sat down.

"I think I may have found a lead. I did a bunch of research the other day after hearing from you about this incident and I found out that the company that began testing the brainwave inhibitor was bought out and then dismantled by a company known as NEA. The name supposedly stands for "Never Ending Analysis" which is the name they use in public as a scientific research organization. But thanks to a special source of mine I found out that the real name is "Neurological Experimentation Association." They were supposed to be shut down by the Japanese government over fifteen years ago for questionable practice and application of neurology. I'd say that place is a good place to start looking for information, but the problem is that you'll never get inside unless you're an employee since their security is tighter than a-"

"O… kay, Hideki. We get the picture. Thanks for the info." Ken said.

"Sure. Just be careful with it." Hideki warned.

Hideki got up and shook hands with Ken before turning and leaving as the team gathered outside and got in the RV to drive away back to headquarters. Along the way they discussed what to do, and it took all of Ken's mental strength to convince Akiko not to just ask Sayuri to sick Godzilla on NEA. Though he liked the idea, this was only a lead and not a confirmed identification of the ones responsible for what happened to Godzilla, Burtannus and Miki. When they arrived back at base, they gathered around the television set and watched a news report which had suddenly taken over most of the channels.

"Attention, this is an emergency broadcast. Please keep your television turned on at this time. We have just received a report which states that a monstrous bird has begun flying across Japan at tremendous speeds and has already attacked and destroyed seven cities. Its most recent victim was the city of Nara on its way towards Tokyo. The bird was reported to be acting in a very robotic like manner, and has since been assaulted unsuccessfully by the Japanese military. Citizens of Tokyo are advised to evacuate the city at this time while the military prepares a new strategy to be used against the creature upon its arrival in approximately two hours. We repeat, citizens of Tokyo are advised to evacuate the city in preparation for the massive bird's arrival."

The television broadcast then returned to the show which had been on before, but Ken turned it off as they all looked at each other.

"Robotic movements eh?" Keiichi asked.

"No doubt they got to the bird too." Akiko said as she bit down lightly on her thumb.

"What do we do?" Sayuri asked.

"We prepare for the inevitable." Ken said.

"Sayuri, try to get in touch with Godzilla. If you can't, then try the Shobijin. Maybe Mothra can help us if Godzilla can't." He said.

"I'll try." Sayuri said as she walked outside.

"What about us?" Akiko asked.

"We can't just stay here." She said.

"I know… We need to gather what equipment we _have _to keep safe and put it in the RV and get out of the city. Staying here would be suicide. Let's get moving." Ken said.

Keiichi and Akiko complied as they started gathering up equipment to pile into the RV while Sayuri continued her efforts to connect to Godzilla and the Shobijin to inform them of the situation. Ten minutes ticked by, and as everyone loaded the last bit of equipment into the RV and locked down the building, Sayuri waited quietly by the RV. When everyone was ready to go they all piled inside as Akiko looked to Sayuri.

"Anything?" She asked.

Sayuri shook her head.

"I can't reach either Godzilla or the Shobijin…" She said as she hung her head slightly.

Akiko patted her on the head.

"It's alright. If Godzilla is up to snuff then he can probably sense the bird's approach already. We should just concentrate on getting out of here."

Sayuri nodded as Ken fired up the engine and started driving south towards Chiba. It was just outside Tokyo's range but close enough to still be within range of the action to see what was going on. If Godzilla arrived they'd want to be close enough to give him whatever support they could even if it was as simple as cheering him on. Support was support, and Sayuri could communicate with him their support if necessary. But he'd beaten the bird before, so hopefully he'd be able to do it again if he arrived.

The team reached a safe distance just on the edge of Chiba and looked back towards their city for over an hour before the bird finally arrived ahead of schedule. It was faster than the news people had expected, and it had already begun attacking the section of the city right above their headquarters. Ken and Akiko looked at each other for a minute and then looked back at he bird.

"Does it know where our headquarters is?" Akiko asked.

Ken shook his head.

"I don't know, but we were close enough to Burtannus and Godzilla for anyone who was monitoring them to see us and they've had over a week to identify us if they wanted to. I wouldn't be surprised if they knew we were based here in Tokyo and decided to target it, using the other cities along the way to try and disguise its abnormal behavior. However, thanks to their control of the monster, it moves abnormally and the news seemed to catch that much. If the ones controlling the bird were smart enough to keep tabs on the news, they'd probably be taking extra care to make the bird look as natural as possible from here on out.

The birds attack was fairly random, but the pattern that it was still following was that it continued to circle around and fly around their headquarters. As the bird continued its rampage throughout the city of Tokyo, Sayuri began to experience a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach as she looked out to the east and saw Mothra approaching the scene.

"Look!" She shouted as she pointed at the giant insect.

The team looked over to see Mothra as she approached, and the bird had obviously noticed her as well as it began to fly in her direction.

"Oh boy… This won't end well." Keiichi said.

"Don't jinx her Keiichi." Akiko admonished.

"Sorry." He said.

Mothra and the bird then engaged in aerial battle with Mothra opening with her antennae beams. The bird effortlessly dodged by rolling and banking to the sides as it bashed Mothra with its armored underbelly. The attack did little but disturb her flight path, and she quickly corrected herself and turned for another attack. The bird, however, was much faster and was already heading for her again and bashed her in the head as she came around. This time the attack worked and knocked her off her path completely and into a nearby building. Mothra shook it off and took to the skies as the bird flew up high into the air and began to dive bomb at her. The first dive missed, but the second one hit its mark and the top of Mothra's thorax was cut open causing a greenish/yellow liquid to ooze from the wound.

Mothra cried in pain, but steeled herself as she knew the assault was far from over. The bird dive bombed her again and she did her best to roll to the side, but as she did so the birds wing sliced into the underside of her abdomen causing another large wound to appear and ooze the same greenish/yellow blood as her first wound. Mothra fell to the Earth and landed hard in the streets with her wings covering up large sections of the underlying housing and small businesses.

"That's not good." Ken remarked.

"Thank you Captain Obvious…" Akiko retorted.

It was at that moment that the team was shaken by a very, _very_ close encounter. As they watched the bird begin to dive bomb Mothra again in an attempt to finish her off, a blue beam of light shot passed them not more than one hundred meters off to the side of their position and struck the bird directly in the back as it dove towards Mothra. The bird was then thrown into another building a good distance away as Mothra took to the skies and struggled to keep herself in the air. The team looked over their shoulders and beheld Godzilla stomping towards the battleground. What surprised the team though was the distance from which he fired the beam. He was a minimum of one mile away judging by how small he was on the horizon, and yet he struck the bird with near pinpoint accuracy.

"He never ceases to amaze does he?" Akiko asked.

"No time for admiration Akiko, we need to move." Ken said as they gathered in the RV and drove to another location out of Godzilla's path.

Godzilla lumbered through the city towards the battleground. The bird recovered after a moment and started flying in circles above the city as Godzilla finally made it to the center of the action as the team got out of the RV a good distance away and watched the battle continue.

Mothra had taken some serious damage from the bird and had since begun to circle around to find a tall building to rest on as Godzilla began attacking he bird with his breath attack again. The bird flew out of the beams way, but Godzilla kept the stream going as the bird turned away and nailed it in the back again sending it flying through the air against its will and into a tall skyscraper nearby. The bird flew through the skyscraper and out the other side as it was then smashed into another skyscraper on the other side as the building collapsed on top of it. Godzilla approached the rubble slowly and stayed a fair distance away as it waited to see if the bird would reappear. Slowly, the rubble began to shift and crumble as Godzilla looked on.

The bird's head emerged from the rubble and it looked a bit different than it did during its attack. It had stopped drooling and looked incredibly dazed, but Godzilla was not convinced. He reared his head back and blasted the bird and the rubble once more with his radioactive breath. The attack engulfed the bird once it destroyed the rubble surrounding it, and Godzilla did not stop his attack until he saw a small electrical discharge from the side of its head. Once that little disturbance had come and gone, Godzilla ceased his attack and watched as the bird writhed on the ground for about two solid minutes before going still. Godzilla walked forward to take a closer look and found the bird was still alive. Godzilla thought about ending it, but as he brought the thought to his mind he began to sense something nearby that caught his attention.

Godzilla began walking away with the team in hot pursuit until Godzilla reached a building with what appeared to be a person standing on top of the roof. Keiichi used his binoculars to confirm, and sure enough there was a male figure standing on the building rooftop staring unflinchingly at Godzilla as he approached. Keiichi couldn't identify who it was who was standing there, but he could tell it was a male in a black suit with his hands clasped behind his back. The fact that the man was unafraid of Godzilla was strange indeed given Godzilla's size and power, not to mention that he just took down another monster not more than a few minutes ago. The team looked up to the skies above and saw that there was a news chopper team flying above recording the action as Godzilla approached the building and stopped in front of it. The team tried tuning into the news, but they couldn't find which team was broadcasting this event.

Godzilla waited in front of the building for not but a few seconds more before he reared his head back and unleashed his atomic ray directly at the man on the top of the building. The attack destroyed the upper levels of the building and took out a few buildings behind it as well before Godzilla ceased his attack and roared in triumph. The mighty Kaiju turned and walked away heading back towards Tokyo Bay to return to the sea. The team returned to the center of Tokyo where the battle took place and saw that Mothra was just taking off of the skyscraper she had been resting on as she too turned and began flying away to the sea. The team thought about asking Sayuri to connect to her, but they felt that both Mothra and Godzilla had been through enough recently and let them both go without any further trouble as they returned to find their headquarters was remarkably intact despite the devastation going on in the surrounding area.

The next morning they watched the news and found that the man on the rooftop had in fact been the CEO of NEA and the building which was partially destroyed beneath him was its headquarters. Now that the CEO was dead a new one was in the process of being selected which could go either way in the case of being good or bad for Godzilla and the others. If the new CEO was anything like the first, they likely hadn't seen the end of the brainwave inhibitor taking control of the monsters. And it was at that moment that Keiichi asked a very serious question.

"Hey… What would happen if they planted one of those things on King Ghidorah?" He asked.

The team turned and looked at him, but nobody said a word as the looks they gave each other were more than enough to explain back and forth the fear that thought brought to their hearts.

Meanwhile, Godzilla had been resting beneath the waters in Tokyo Bay not wanting to be far away from where the majority of intrusions on his territory were occurring. However, he was awoken by a sudden feeling in his mind as he rose to the surface of the water and looked over towards the city of Tokyo. He remained silent for a moment, but then unleashed a roar towards the city where he felt a familiar presence beginning to stir.


	26. Chapter 26 - Awakening

The sun rose slowly and lazily on the morning of June 18th, 2014.

The day was cloudy and the humidity was thicker than normal. The dry air was enough to make the team sweat as they stood on a rooftop and looked out at the city of Tokyo. A line of destruction trailed in the wake of something tremendous having come through. It didn't look like Godzilla's work, and no other monster that they knew about walked on the surface like this. The bird, finally given the name Rodan by Ken for his dinosaur-like appearance referencing the similarity to the pteranodon, and Mothra both flew and almost never touched the ground unless they landed to rest or were struck down by an enemy. King Ghidorah flew around most of the time and rarely landed save to fight with Godzilla or other monsters, and Burtannus spent the vast majority of her time underground.

Godzilla was still being monitored in the ocean just offshore in Tokyo Bay, so what was the team looking at?

Despite the trail of destruction, nobody had reported on what it was. No news coverage about any new creatures, no new seismic readings or audio recordings out of the norm… Nothing. As the team looked on, they carefully scanned the ground where the destruction had taken place, but they didn't see anything for the first several minutes due to how much debris was on the ground covering possible tracks. Taking their search to the ground, the team did what they could to analyze the destruction while moving what debris they could manage to try and find tracks or clues as to what had done this. There was an uncanny and almost eerie resemblance to Godzilla within the wreckage, but no tracks were visible despite the obvious size of whatever had done this as well as the fact that Godzilla was still out to sea.

The team was called back from their search by Sayuri a few minutes later who told them about Miki's condition and temporary change at the hospital. Everyone did a few last minute documentation of the area and headed off to meet Sayuri back at base where they discussed Miki's condition and what it could mean. The fact that it matched Godzilla's appearance and vocalizations after killing the CEO of NEA couldn't be a coincidence. Miki had managed to help Godzilla's heart to start after what they had done to him, so it held up in the minds of the team that Godzilla could be influencing her recovery with his own willpower. If Miki could start his heart, what could Godzilla do for her as a Kaiju with mental abilities? The possibilities were frightening as well as hopeful, but the team didn't want to jump to conclusions until they held a solid and irrefutable proof of a connection between the two.

As they poured over their data about the recent Kaiju activities and what had happened during Godzilla's time as a slave to NEA, Akiko came to the realization that the more the Kaiju's became active, the more passive the Japanese military seemed to become. Once NEA got involved with taking over Burtannus and Godzilla, the military had practically stopped going after the Kaiju. This development did not bode well for Akiko and the others. If whoever was controlling the monsters also controlled or held influence over the military, the chances were very high that the team would be facing very dangerous situations in the near future. Miki and Sayuri's kidnapping had been bad enough, but if things continued to develop like this there was no telling who would come for them and the data they'd acquired… Not to mention Miki and Sayuri for their ability to connect with Godzilla.

Still, the team had to continue their work. Akiko and the others had made a promise to each other that no matter what they'd continue to research and document the behavior of each of the Kaiju if possible. Their long term goal was to find a way to live together with them peacefully, perhaps finding an isolated area of the globe for them to inhabit away from humans so that there would be no fighting. While it was only a dream, it was one they all shared and were equally determined to accomplish together. Even with Miki still in the hospital in a coma, the others would press on until she recovered.

While the team was working, a television news broadcast came on the air urging the citizens of Tokyo to evacuate the area. Ken and the others paid no attention to it until the name "Ghidorah" appeared. Once the name of that wretched dragon was mentioned, their eyes and attention were glued to the screen as they watched a live feed of the monster as it flew towards the city. It didn't seem to be under any strange influences, but it was unusually docile with a news chopper flying beside it. Normally it would attack anything and everything that came near it, but for some reason it was leaving the chopper alone as it was being filmed. Such a strange deviation from its natural behavior could not be a good sign.

Ken and Akiko exchanged glances before they told Keiichi and Sayuri to get in the RV while they packed up a few things to take with them on their trip. The team raced to the hospital where Miki was being held and saw the hospital being evacuated, patients and all. The team waited to see if Miki would appear, but as time ticked by they never saw her being wheeled out of the building. Since she was in a coma and hooked up to life saving machines it was likely that she was just taking more time due to the complexity of moving such a patient, but still the team was anxious. Ghidorah was closing fast, and if it decided to attack the hospital there'd be nothing they could do to protect her.

The seconds felt like hours with the threat of Ghidorah's approach looming in the back of their minds, however, they were about to get a somewhat welcome reprieve as Keiichi ran out of the RV and up to their location by the entrance.

"Hey, I just got Godzilla on the sonar. He's booking it in our direction, and I mean booking it. He's moving faster than I've ever seen him move before." He said.

That news was both a reprieve and another worry. If Godzilla couldn't make it in time, if he was not strong enough to halt the dragon's advance and attacks, anything could go wrong at any time with or without him and it was incredibly frustrating and difficult for Akiko to find a silver lining. However, Sayuri called out to them as they all turned towards the entrance to see MIki's bed finally being wheeled out. They had portable power sources hooked up to the machines keeping her alive as it was sped towards an ambulance, but the uplifting feeling of seeing her being wheeled out soon gave way to unbridled concern as King Ghidorah arrived on the scene. The mighty dragon roared as it soared over and passed the hospital sending a wave of air down upon them. The force of the pressure knocked the bed carrying Miki over and also disconnected the breathing apparatus on her face.

The entire team went dead still in shock as they watched Miki's comatose form hit the ground as she fell off the bed to the ground as the medical team raced and floundered to recover her and reconnect her breather. The medical team moved as fast as they could to get her back on the bed and into the ambulance, but not before King Ghidorah raced by overhead again. This time the pressure was enough to knock over both the RV and the ambulance as the medical team and Miki were blown back several dozen feet. By some miracle they'd managed to hold onto Miki and keep her equipment in place, but it was of little comfort as they knew that Ghidorah was now deliberately targeting the hospital. The team raced over and shoved the medical team away as they raced Miki and her equipment over to a more sheltered area where they did their best to protect her from the wrath of the dragon. The medical team had no choice but to join them as the ambulance which had been Miki's lifeline to a safe escape was now unusable.

Akiko and the others all huddled over Miki to protect her, but even while hunkering down like that it was hard to keep her still through the pressure waves of air Ghidorah was sending their way. Wave after wave, it became harder and harder to stay put as their shelter was being torn away piece by piece. Ken kept looking at Keiichi with a questioning look which Keiichi knew all too well.

"I don't know, but I swear he's moving this way!" He yelled.

Ken shook his head as he looked back towards the skies to watch out for Ghidorah.

The monster's roars overhead shook the ground and shook their hearts as well. They had always held a respectful amount of fear towards this creature, but this day their fear overtook them as they all began to panic as they waited for the arrival of Godzilla. It didn't seem to be happening though, and with every flyby of the golden dragon above their hopes waned more and more until at last their shelter was completely torn away and they were forced to run for their lives through the streets to find a new one. The nearest building seemed the best place, but at the rate that Ghidorah was passing over their heads, they'd never make it without taking at least another good beating from the air pressure of its wings which could be devastating to all of them given how strong they'd been growing over each pass.

Still, they had to try.

As they ran out into the streets, they were greeted by what they described as a typical movie moment with Ghidorah appearing in the background in the skies and flying down towards them. If it was like the movies, Godzilla would save them at the last second but they couldn't rely on that now. They ran as fast as their legs would take them while wheeling Miki's bed away through the streets, hugging the buildings for as much cover as they could get, but it was no use. Ghidorah flew overhead and passed them while at the same time blasting much of the street ahead of them with its lightning attacks which created a lot of dust and debris. The force of the attacks knocked them forward and back, but thankfully Miki's bed had remained upright and the equipment was still holding on as well which was nothing short of amazing. The breather had come loose, but was still in tact and attached to her face as Akiko fixed it before they continued to run towards cover.

Their plans for shelter were once again thwarted though as Ghidorah hovered above them and roared down at them and blasted the area around them. The team leaned over Miki to protect her from the falling debris from blasted buildings and streets before the attacks subsided and the team looked around to find that they were standing in the middle of the street with Ghidorah floating overhead glaring down at them. Each flap of its wings was followed by a percussive blast of wind and air pressure which made it hard to stand up or even hunker down without getting knocked off balance.

As the team gathered around they heard a sound which they had dreaded in their nightmares: Miki's heart monitor went flatline.

The team was now in shock, and demoralized beyond anything they could imagine as the sounds of Ghidorah's roaring was completely tuned out. The only sound in their ears was that flatline tone from the monitor, the rest of the world around them having descended into nothingness as they looked at their friend. Ken and Keiichi managed to finally listen in to the world around them again to notice that Ghidorah was now ascending and beginning to fly backwards and away from them as it looked out towards the distance before that oh so familiar blue beam flew by overhead and struck the dragon in the chest which knocked it back and out of the sky. The body hitting the ground shook the earth beneath them, and despite that flatline monitor the team could not help but protect Miki on her bed as tears fell down their faces like rivers as the sound of Godzilla's roar filled the air.

Godzilla's head appeared above them from behind the roof of a building just across the street as he let out another roar towards Ghidorah. It didn't seem that he noticed them down below, and the team had to hightail it away as Godzilla ripped through the building before him as he made his way towards the dragon who was flailing and trying to get up. Godzilla marched towards the dragon with deadly purpose as he continued to roar and display his anger and power before the dragon righted itself and the two began a stare off. Godzilla's eyes were glued on the middle head of Ghidorah as the outer two heads seemed to look around before they looked back at Godzilla. It was unusual that Ghidorah's full attention was not on Godzilla, but then again it had been attacked by the military last time so perhaps it was just a precaution this time. Ken thought it was a viable idea, but there was no telling now a days with all the craziness that had taken place.

Godzilla snarled as Ghidorah prepared its lightning attack, and as the dragon let fly Godzilla let fly with a blast of his own. Godzilla's breath completely overpowered the smaller lightning attack from the central head and blasted the dragon in the face, but Godzilla suffered the consequences of being struck in the chest and side of his head by the other two attacks. Godzilla and Ghidorah both reeled back, but it was Godzilla who recovered first this time as he let fly with another blast at Ghidorah's chest. The dragon closed its wings with amazing speed which deflected the blast out to the sides of its body and avoided a direct blast, and as it opened its wings it blasted at Godzilla again. The blast hit Godzilla in the chest, but even though there were three blasts in total Godzilla managed to shrug off the attack with little effort.

The two monsters sized each other up again as they walked towards one another. Godzilla kept a distance as he began charging for another thermonuclear breath attack, but Ghidorah seemed to have a similar thought in mind as it charged another attack, but this time it was different. Ghidorah's attack this time was not the triple lighting beam, but instead was a blending of that attack with a strange new attack which it had never used before. The dragon's body glowed in a bright golden hue as it charged the attack, and as Godzilla's thermonuclear breath left his mouth and headed for the dragon. The blue beam struck the dragon head on, but it seemed to be either deflected or absorbed as the dragon's attack continued to charge and gain strength before it finally let loose. The attack looked almost the same as its normal attack, but this time it was obviously supercharged as the lightning blasts were thicker and much louder. The attack flew through the air and struck Godzilla in the chest and across the base of his neck.

Godzilla's flesh beneath his neck was rent, slicing open and spraying blood out in front of him as he roared in pain and fell backward and hit the ground. Godzilla's chest was singed, but remained in tact, but the softer flesh at the base of his neck was unable to hold up to the new attack the dragon had unleashed. Ghidorah walked forward a few steps but stopped short of Godzilla as the monster made it to his feet and turned around to continue battle. Godzilla was injured, but undeterred and determined to drive this beast away once and for all. Godzilla charged at Ghidorah with all the speed he could muster given his surroundings with buildings and such in the way of his feet, but he charged forward none the less and rammed his body into Ghidorah's as the dragons heads came down to try and stop him. Godzilla head butted the center head out of his way and used his left hand to grab the dragon's left head around the throat and clenched down as he slammed his body into the dragon's and knocked it backwards a few steps.

Still clenched in Godzilla's hand, the left head struggled to get free as the center head bit down on Godzilla's arm to try and release his grip. The head on the right leaned in close to try and blast Godzilla in the face, but Godzilla used the side of his head to bash the dragon's head away as the attack flew out into the open air before Godzilla bit down on the back of the center heads neck. The head on the right became frantic in its efforts to get Godzilla off of the center head and tried biting him, bashing him and blasting him at point blank range, but Godzilla would not let go. His claws were digging into the left head's throat causing it to bleed and choke while the center head could no longer retain its grip on his forearm as Godzilla's teeth and powerful jaws clenched down on the back of its neck. Godzilla had been blasted in the face a few times and was now bleeding above his left eye, but he would not let go no matter what the right head tried to do to him.

In one final desperate attempt to make Godzilla let go, the dragon's head came down and tried to line up its teeth with Godzilla's eyes, but Godzilla saw the attack coming in and turned his head away at the last moment which caused the dragon's head to bite down on his skull instead of his eyes. The dragon clenched down and tried to pull Godzilla away, but the much thinner neck didn't have the muscle to pull Godzilla's powerful head and neck away from the center head. The left head went limp in his hand and Godzilla let go, bringing his now free left hand around and digging into the center head as he bit down harder and pulled his head away while using his hands to push the other direction. A large chunk of the dragon's flesh came out in Godzilla's mouth sending blood everywhere as Godzilla stepped away while the dragon's center head flailed about screaming at the top of its lungs while the right head tried to continue the assault.

Godzilla dropped the hunk of flesh in his mouth and stared at the dragon before him as the air around his body, but mostly his head, began to swirl. Godzilla's spines began to glow their usual blue hue, but as everyone looked on the color began to change. The color slowly changed from blue to red as the thermonuclear breath in Godzilla's mouth took on the same color before he unleashed it at the dragon. Surrounding the central beam was a spiral pattern as the now red beam tore through the air and slammed into the dragon lifting it off the ground and sending it flying trough the air for several hundred meters before it came crashing down to the ground. The impact shook the ground, but it shook the dragon more as it was overcome by shock and pain. The dragons scales were seared and smoking as it tried to slowly right itself.

Godzilla made no move to chase the dragon as it slowly got to its feet and turned away. As the dragon took flight, it began flying straight up into the air, flying higher and higher before disappearing into the vastness of the skies above as Godzilla roared in triumph after it as a final reminder of just who it had been dealing with. Godzilla then made his way through the city and found Akiko and the others who were still hunkered down with Miki lying on her hospital bed. During the fight, the team had been relieved to find out that one end of the heart monitor had come off of Miki's chest which was the reason for the flatline. She was very much alive, but still comatose. As Godzilla approached the team and came to a stop a few hundred yards away, Akiko looked up him with eyes that practically begged him to do something about Miki.

She knew he was a Kaiju. She knew he wasn't magic. She knew that his power had limits. But regardless she was desperate for Miki to open her eyes and she was hoping beyond hope that Godzilla would have a way to open her eyes if even just for an instant. Ken and the others seemed to share in her hopes and desires as they all stared up at Godzilla who looked down on them all. The medical team had since abandoned them to save themselves and disappeared, so all that remained was the team and Miki who would die without proper help if she remained in this state on this temporary mobile lifeline that was her bed. Sayuri watched Godzilla for a moment, but she could not connect with him as had been her hope. He was blocking her, and it was fairly obvious as to why. He wasn't here for her, he was here for Miki.

Godzilla continued to stand there watching the team for several minutes, not a single person nor Kaiju moving a muscle. The silence was painful, but nobody dared do anything with Godzilla present. However, it finally became too much for Akiko as she came forward a few steps to speak. She was so overcome by emotion that she found it hard to speak, fighting back her tears which were still flowing as she tried desperately to reach out to Godzilla despite the fact that she had no psychic ability.

"Please…" She begged.

"Please, do something." She said as she fought against her sobbing while trying to regain control.

"This can't go on anymore. We need her back." She said as she finally broke down.

"Please… Please… We need her back." She said, giving in to her tears and dropping to her knees as she started crying.

Sayuri sensed a probing of her mind for a few moments while Akiko had been speaking. She knew that it was Godzilla, and he seemed to be using Sayuri as a method of understanding what Akiko was asking of him. As Akiko continued to cry on the ground with Ken walking forward to wrap his arms around her to comfort her, Godzilla reared his head back and roared towards the sky as a small shockwave struck everyone in the chest before Godzilla's roar ceased and he began walking away towards Tokyo Bay.

In the midst of Godzilla's departure, a very small but very special sound came from Miki's bed.

The first person to look back at Miki's bed was Akiko, and when she saw Miki's lips parting as her brow furrowed signifying her awakening, Akiko completely lost control. She got up and ran over to Miki and wrapped her arms around the young psychic as her eyes finally opened for the first time in weeks as Akiko cried harder and harder while holding her tight like a mother would a child after a near death experience. Sayuri followed suit as she wrapped her arms around Miki's head and kissed her forehead before resting her cheek against Miki's own. Ken and Keiichi watched and tried not to cry, but it was to no avail. Both of the men started to break down as they walked over to Miki while she looked around half dazed and confused, but none the less very much awake at last.

Ken looked over his shoulder towards the form of Godzilla who was now fast disappearing beyond the city roofline.

"Thank you." He whispered.


	27. Chapter 27 - What Is It?

(Please read the note at the end when you finish the chapter before commenting. Thank you!)

It had been nearly three days since Miki's return, and already things were getting back to normal save for Miki's rehabilitation. Her body was weak from the lack of proper nutrition she received while in the coma, and so she spent many hours of the day walking, stretching and jogging to ensure that her body recovered its musculature and stamina so that when she next went out with the team to find Godzilla or another Kaiju, she'd be ready. Akiko took charge of Miki's rehab and stayed close to her at all times to ensure that she didn't hurt herself. It was almost like having an overprotective mother, but Miki didn't mind it much. In fact it annoyed the others more than Miki.

As everyone gathered around the television for the news, a new bulletin came on with an important announcement. Apparently Godzilla had been through Kyoto recently, but the team knew full well that he had not left the sea since King Ghidorah's departure. Godzilla had his own wounds to worry about after all, and though his healing ability was second to none it was not instantaneous. That supercharged attack Ghidorah had launched did a real number on him despite his ability to continue battle that day.

This time though the news did in fact have photos of tracks left by the Kaiju responsible and they matched Godzilla's down to the exact size and shape. There were also a few eye witnesses who had testified that it was Godzilla, though they did also testify that he looked a little different than usual. What was different, they couldn't say, but his roar was most definitely not the same and one witness was lucky enough to have caught a recording of it he caught on his phone. It was quite high pitched compared to Godzilla's normal roar, but according to Miki it was a menacing and wicked sound. Though Godzilla's roar was indeed intimidating, it was more of a simple and primal sound rather than one of wickedness.

The team all looked to each other and wondered what in the world was going on. Could there be a second Godzilla out there somewhere? And if there was, did it really have wickedness in its heart as Miki claimed?

Everyone decided that the best thing to do would be to go check out the prints for themselves, so they loaded up into the RV and took off for Kyoto. As they arrived at their destination they found the military blocking off direct access to the streets where the prints were. The team was not about to give up, so they drove around and found the tallest building they could within reach of the prints and brought out Keiichi's favorite pair of binoculars. Once Keiichi found the prints in the streets he handed the binoculars over to Ken who compared them to pictures of Godzilla's own prints. The prints were an absolute match right down to the last detail including the depth of the print. If someone out there was trying to fake this, they were doing a fantastic job. The fact that the witnesses were all rather dubious about details other than "it looked like Godzilla" was also a red flag.

Still, the team was wary about leaving such a detail unattended.

They gathered up what pictures they could of the evidence and drove back to Tokyo as quickly as they could. Along the way they were asked by the military if they'd seen or heard anything unusual about the appearance of this monster. The team said "no" and continued on their way, and upon their arrival in Tokyo they poured over their new photos and compared them side by side with extreme awareness trying to find even one difference between them. But no matter how hard they tried, there was no difference from one set to the other. They had no choice but to believe that this was either Godzilla, or some new kind of creature of the same species. The chances of finding another Godzilla were beyond astronomical as the entire team believed him to be one of a kind, but it was there in living color before their eyes that there was now proof to the contrary.

Regardless of how strange this new development was, Godzilla was not responding to it in the slightest despite the apparent consequences that it could bring about. The entire team put their heads together to try and figure out why it was that he wasn't responding, but there were no reasons which they could come up with as to why. Anytime a threat appeared he was there to take it on. This time though he was completely ignoring it. That or he was completely ignorant to its existence which was not a likely scenario. Whatever this thing was, Godzilla either couldn't sense it or was too focused on his recovery to face this threat.

At that moment, Miki felt a connection being made in her mind and she instantly focused on it.

… _Miki, can you hear our voices?_

Miki nodded.

"Yes, I can hear you." She whispered.

_There is something you must know. We had hoped to keep this to ourselves and find a solution before having to involve humanity in this struggle, but it seems that we can no longer face this threat alone. Therefore, we ask of you now, will you help us?_

"Of course. Why do you need to ask?" She asked them.

_Because in our eyes, were we in your situation, we do not believe we could extend our trust so easily to those who had kept the truth from us for so long._

"Don't worry. You have our trust." Miki said.

At this time the team had noticed her conversation and were gathering quietly around her waiting to see what would happen.

_Thank you Miki._

"Not a problem." She whispered.

_Godzilla, as you and your team have thought, is indeed the only one of his kind. However, in recent months, a new creature has appeared. Born from dangerous scientific ventures on the part of human scientists, this new monster is genetically designed to rival and outclass Godzilla in every way. Larger, stronger, and more powerful with abilities Godzilla himself could never make use of, this new monster is by far the most powerful this world has ever seen._

"… What is it?" Miki asked.

_As we said before, it is the product of dangerous human experimentation. A strange entity was discovered in space not far from Earth in recent years. It was a life form which could only survive in a crystalline state when exposed to Earth's atmosphere, but when it was combined with Godzilla's DNA via a special form of fusion by Earth scientists, it began to grow at an alarming rate and soon took on Godzilla's appearance and overall abilities. However, this new monster is no Godzilla and has a mind to kill his counterpart and completely dominate this world once he's finished. Unlike any Kaiju before it, this creature is well and truly evil._

"What can we do about it then?" Ken asked, Miki relaying the question through thought.

… _We wish we knew. Mothra is no match for this creature, but neither is any single Kaiju on its own. It is likely that once Godzilla finally realizes this monster's presence he will track it down and attack it. But doing so alone will lead to only one inevitable result: his death._

"How can it be so much stronger than Godzilla that you're certain it will kill him?" Akiko asked.

_This creature can create and harvest its own infinite power supply via crystalline structures which it can produce at will almost anywhere. So long as it remains close enough to the crystal objects, it can draw power from them and continue to fight indefinitely._

"So it has an infinite power supply? That's not fair!" Keiichi growled.

_We agree, but this is the reality we are now faced with. When this creature does decide to engage Godzilla it will do so on its own terms, and it will do whatever it must to gain and hold the advantage. It is very intelligent, calculating, and has no interest in fighting fair._

"What can Godzilla do then?" Ken asked.

_If Godzilla can destroy the crystals surrounding it during the fight then he has a chance, but even if he wins the battle it is highly unlikely that he will be able to kill it. We observed Godzilla's fight with Ghidorah through your eyes and saw his new red spiral breath attack, but by our estimation even that powerful attack will not be enough to kill this beast._

"… Holy…" Keiichi muttered.

"That's his strongest attack by far and you're telling us it's useless?" Akiko asked.

_Not necessarily useless, just not enough to kill it._

"So what do we do then?" Miki asked.

_As we said, if Godzilla can destroy the crystals it generates he has a chance. It's a slim chance, but a chance all the same. We will beseech Mothra to assist Godzilla in this endeavor, and we will also do our best to convince Rodan and Burtannus to take up arms against it as well. The more monsters we can unite against it, the better._

"But that's a pretty big _if_ isn't it?" Ken asked.

_It is true. The other monsters have little love for Godzilla after having lost to him in combat already, but all the same Mothra may be able to convince them to put their differences aside this one time to battle this new foe. But you're right Ken, it's a very big "if."_

"What do we do in the meantime?" Akiko asked.

_Keep an eye out for Godzilla. If he counters this foe before Mothra can find and communicate with the other monsters, try to get Godzilla to retreat. As powerful as he is, standing alone against this foe his chances of survival are practically zero._

"Don't worry, I'll keep him safe." Miki said.

_Thank you friends. Good luck to you._

"And to you as well." Miki whispered.

With the conversation with the Shobijin now over and the identity of this new creature revealed, the only question now was when would it make its grand appearance?

(((NOTE: I am well aware of the origins of this new monster whom I am certain you can all instantly identify, but I have chosen instead to use a combination of my own creativity as well as the origin story for this creature from the Trendmasters "Godzilla Wars" toy line series.

The "Godzilla Wars" series states that Godzilla's cells were attached to Mothra and combined with a crystalline life form via a form of fusion rather than being absorbed by a black hole and reemerging through a white hole. I am using that origin story, but adding a human element to it for the sake of making things more interesting. Godzilla was captured once after all, and his blood is everywhere throughout Tokyo and other places he's been in combat so there's more than enough cells to go around for power hungry scientists right?

So for those who are concerned about anything, just know that I own every movie in the franchise from '54-'04 (even the '98 atrocity, though I got rid of the VHS copy not long ago :D) and have watched them all more times than anyone should be allowed to. I know Godzilla and the other monsters inside and out, backwards and forwards and sideways. As the author of this story I am taking some light creative liberties with the monsters and some of the mythology surrounding them which others have already mistakenly called "bloopers" in the comments section. When it comes to Godzilla I am one of the most die hard fan boys out there and I take measures upon measures to ensure that I don't make mistakes because I would be the first to punish myself for having made them.

As a final word, this is one of the final chapters of this story and I'd like to thank you all for staying with me this far!)))


	28. Chapter 28 - Godzilla?

A cold and still air fell upon the city of Fukuoka, Japan. The morning light was only just peeking over the horizon and bringing a mild blue hue to the horizon line in the distance as an eerie presence began to creep up upon the unsuspecting city as it slept. Birds and other small animals were dead silent, not even a domestic dog barking as this presence drew closer. That unmistakable feeling of a dangerous predator approaching had them instinctively silenced and hiding for their lives.

Slowly, from out of the distance above the sea a massive jagged shape approached the city. Massive spikes all along the top almost looked like they could shred the sky itself into ribbons as it slowly came into view. It was a mass of white crystalline spikes atop a smaller and much darker form hidden beneath it. It flew with near perfect silence save for the slight sound of the air around it fled the monster's path. The mighty mass of jagged white crystals descended upon the city and began to change shape against the darkness behind it until the giant crystals were no longer visible, having seemingly been absorbed into the monsters body and fading to nothingness as its feet touched the ground and sent a tremor through the Earth upon which it stood.

The darkness hid it well, and only its glowing red eyes were easily visible in the night sky. It took a single step forward and a larger tremor shook the ground and awoke many of the surrounding inhabitants as lights came on inside of house windows and a few flashlights emerged on the ground. The monster took another step forward, releasing another tremor as it simultaneously trampled a small home beneath its feet causing the neighbors to start screaming at the top of their lungs. Before long the entire city had been awoken by a chorus of shrieks and fearful panicked cries for help. The monster looked down to its feet and its eyes beheld the masses of people now flooding and running through the streets in an attempt to flee and the creatures eyes lit ever brighter as the crystal spines on its back began to flash red inside before a red light formed inside its mouth. As it released this attack, the light within its mouth exploded to life as multiple bursts of red lightning shot forth and destroyed the streets and all those running within them.

The creature looked about, satisfied with the lack of people around him and released a horrid roar of victory as he lumbered forth through the city. Before long, news choppers were on the scene as the military began mobilizing against it as it reached the Fukuoka Airport.

"We are here live above Fukuoka Airport as this new creature which bears a striking resemblance to Godzilla is now approaching. One source suggests that it is in fact Godzilla himself in a new form, perhaps influenced by the amount of radiation he's come into contact with over the last several years but none can say. The military is mobilizing as we speak and-"

That was the last word out of the reporters mouth as the helicopter was suddenly engulfed in red light before it disintegrated in the air where it once flew. Those tuning into the channel were met with static and a grey screen until the news team brought it back to reporters inside the main headquarters.

As the creature arrived at the airport, numerous flights which had been coming in were diverted away as those who were previously scheduled to take off were cancelled and the citizens within were rushed to the exits in a desperate attempt to evacuate the airport safely. The monster, however, had other plans. Sensing the panic of the people within it charged its attack and let fly at the body of the airport and dragged the attack from right to left until the entirety of it had been destroyed. The attack completely shredded the building and sent massive chunks of debris flying in all directions as the airport suddenly grew quiet and still. The creature came forward and smashed surviving several airplanes into the ground with its feet before making a final check of the area to make sure nothing had survived. It stared at the ground and the rubble for a long time and finally spied a single small body on the ground running away from the debris.

Lifting its foot, it brought it down on top of the insignificant spec of life which had attempted to flee and snuffed it out.

With its work here now complete the monster moved on. Moving through what was left of Fukuoka Airport, it made its way through on a collision course with the city of Asakura. About halfway to its objective it was intercepted by the military. Several dozen fighter jets descended upon it firing every weapon they had to no effect. Even their best fighters could only watch as their missiles exploded on contact with the creature's body but yielding not even so much as a flinch. It was as if it was mocking them, standing perfectly still and allowing them to launch their attacks. It was a sight that burned at the fighter pilot's hearts as they renewed their attacks and tried to take aim at more delicate locations such as the eyes. However, as the missiles came within a certain distance of the eyes they seemed to hit an invisible barrier which was erected at the last possible moment that protected the creatures eyes from harm.

Tank battalions on the ground began to let fly at the creature as well, but each attack failed as spectacularly as the last. The creature appeared to have no end of endurance as strike after strike, blast after blast and missile after missile struck its body without producing so much as the batting of an eye. The creature looked down at the tank battalions and released a shrill roar which pierced the air and halted their attacks as the men inside covered their ears which now began to bleed. The creature's eyes flashed red and several dozen of the tanks began to float into the air before being slammed back towards the ground and being crushed by an unseen force until the entire tank was nothing more than a squished pile of metal about two feet high. The men inside were crushed to death inside and blood flowed freely from within through what few tiny air gaps remained.

The monster looked to the skies as the fighters began to descend upon it once again, but it surprised them this time by bending its legs and pushing off just so as its body was suddenly and quite rapidly lifted into the air as giant crystalline spikes emerged from its back and filled the air. Several of the fighters crashed into the crystal objects while the others veered away, but as the creature circled around and faced the fighter squadrons it released a pulse of energy which fried the electronics within the plane and caused many of them to explode right away. Those that didn't screamed towards the Earth as the pilots desperately fought to escape the planes, but without working electronics and a plane that was now beginning to catch fire and tear itself apart, none escaped their metallic tombs as they all crashed into the Earth below.

The creature landed, retracting the massive crystals at its back once again as it looked around for signs of life. Nothing moved. Nothing stirred. Nothing breathed. Once again satisfied with its work it released a cry of victory as it began its march towards Asakura. Upon reaching the city it was met with another wave of military attacks, but this time the military had some new toys waiting for it. As it trudged through the city towards the waiting military it was greeted by the site of what appeared to be huge mounted satellite dishes. The dishes took aim and fired blueish white lasers at the creature which struck its body with tremendous force. These new maser weapons seemed to actually produce an effect as they caused the creature take a step back and shake its head in surprise, but the satisfaction was short lived as the creature's eyes flashed once again before a massive pulse of energy was released in their direction. As with the planes before, the electronics of the maser weapons were fried but the creature was not through yet.

It came forward and reared its head back as it released its red lightning attack and destroyed the masers one by one until none remained. The only thing left the military had to offer as resistance were more tanks and another round of fighter and bomber jets, but they now knew better than to stick around as they began a full scale retreat.

The monster had won, and it was barely even a fight.

The creature roared in triumph as the humans withdrew and took to the skies once more as the massive crystals emerged from its back. Chasing down the fleeing military, it destroyed every plane and vehicle it could see, even those which were not capable of launching attacks at it such as ground unit jeeps. As the monster flew away towards the sea, it launched its red lightning attack on the Earth below several dozen times leaving a tremendous trail of devastation in its wake across several other cities including Hita, Beppu, Usuki, and Tsukumi before it flew out to sea and disappeared. The creature's rampage was documented and its brief camera appearance recorded and played back on a news broadcast about an hour after its departure from Asakura.

Sitting in their own headquarters back in Tokyo, the team watched the feed with weary eyes. They knew that Godzilla would inevitably be drawn into conflict with this dark twin of his at some point, and if the Shobijin had been correct about how powerful it was then Godzilla would not stand a chance in his present state. Even with Mothra, Rodan and Burtannus, it was uncertain if they'd be able to prevail or if they'd even be persuaded to help drive this creature away. Mothra and the Shobijin had powerful telepathic powers, but when it came to Kaiju there was no guarantee that they would be able to convince the monsters to take the fight to this new Godzilla copy cat. They looked at the brief footage clip which made it on the air one last time and froze the image when they reached a frame which held the clearest view.

"Dark blue, almost black skin. Large white crystals on its shoulders. A reddish/purple belly and chest, a crystal crown on its brow, white crystalline spines on its back and a large crystal spike on its tail… That's quite the impressive beast." Ken said as he took it all in.

"No kidding, not to mention that it's bigger than Godzilla by a minimum of twenty to thirty meters." Akiko remarked.

"How do you figure that Akiko?" Keiichi asked.

Akiko looked at him and pointed at the screen next to the creature.

"It's not that hard to see, actually. Just look a little closer at it in the previous shot." She said.

Keiichi rewound the footage and they all watched as it approached the airport before the camera panned to the reporter. Keiichi froze the frame right before the camera panned and they compared the size of the creature to the planes on the ground.

"Those are Boeing 747 planes. Each one i approximately 19.4 meters in height. That's slightly less than one fifth of Godzilla's height. When you see this creature standing next to one right before the camera turns, it's less than one sixth of his height. This leads me to believe that it's a minimum of twenty meters taller than Godzilla and possibly more since the camera angle isn't quite low enough to get a perfectly accurate representation, but there is absolutely no doubt that it's larger than Godzilla is." Akiko explained.

"Damn, that's a big brute." Keiichi said.

"So what now?" Miki and Sayuri asked.

Akiko and Ken exchanged glances for a moment and shook their heads.

"I wish I knew." Akiko said quietly.

"We can't do anything until we know more about it, and that means, unfortunately, waiting for it to strike again at a closer location so we can observe it for ourselves." Ken said to the girls.

Miki and Sayuri looked worriedly at each other before choosing to sit down as the team continued to listen to the news broadcasts.

… Meanwhile, beneath the sea. Godzilla was disturbed from his slumber by a dark presence. His eyes opened and his growl filled the ocean floor as he slowly began to ascend towards the surface of the sea. What was causing this mysteriously evil presence, he did not know, but was determined to find out as it drew ever closer. Godzilla swam up through the trench he was sleeping in, passing by hundreds of deep sea lifeforms before breaking out into the open ocean on his way to the surface. As he drew nearer, the light of the sun illuminated the waters above him before his head finally broke the surface. He released a roar into the air as he looked around trying to figure out where this presence was coming from, and it didn't take long for him to find out.

A shadow fell upon him slowly, and as he looked up he was greeted by the site of a darker version of himself suspended in air with a giant mass of crystals surrounding its body as it glared down upon him. The two of them stared at one another for a good long time before the darker Godzilla made its first move. It sent a pulse of energy down at Godzilla which forced the massive Kaiju back under the water's surface before he fought to return. As he broke the surface again he was greeted by the dark Godzilla's red lighting attack which tore through the air and struck Godzilla in the chest. The blow forced a cry of pain from Godzilla as he was once again thrown beneath the surface of the water with a horrible burning sensation now overcoming his body in the wake of that monster's attack. As Godzilla recovered from the attack he surfaced once more, a bit more cautiously this time, but as he broke the surface he saw the creature flying away towards Japan.

Godzilla remained still for a moment, but let out another roar and dove beneath the waves and started swimming after the creature as fast as he could.


	29. Chapter 29 - Desperation

An overwhelming sense of dread had covered the city like the plague as Tokyo was hastily evacuated over the course of several hours leading into the twilight hours.

The city was empty and without life, the complete opposite of its normal everyday routine. The monstrous dark twin of Godzilla had made its way towards Tokyo from the sea, and as it arrived in this empty and dead combat zone it landed next to Tokyo Tower crushing everything beneath its feet without a second thought or care. The evil creature looked around and decided it would be an ideal battle zone to kill its simplistic counterpart and unleashed a roar which shook the ground as dozens of crystals emerged from the ground around it. Not only did Tokyo Tower provide it with a source of energy, but the neighboring structure of The Prince Park Tower Tokyo functioned as something of a backup unit though it was not nearly as tall or efficient. Still, all the extra energy it could gather would be worth it if it meant killing its counterpart.

The team, led by Ken, remained in the city about three quarters of a mile away from where the action would be taking place. They were perched atop the roof of a skyscraper with a clear view of the battlegrounds and they didn't like what they were seeing. From what Keiichi could gather through his binoculars there were nearly one hundred separate crystals in the ground around the dark Godzilla, and if each one could help to provide energy to that monstrosity then Godzilla would have his hands full. Ken and Akiko watched the dark Godzilla feeding off of the energy its crystals were gathering and looked at each other with dread in their eyes.

"If he fights that thing, what do you think will happen?" She asked him.

Ken shook his head.

"Nothing good, I'm sure." He responded.

Akiko sighed as she looked over to Miki.

"Hey, Miki. Are you alright?" She asked.

Miki didn't take her eyes off of the dark Godzilla but responded all the same.

"I'm alright, but that's not the issue. What I'm worried about is whether or not Godzilla will be alright when he gets here." She said softly.

Akiko nodded and looked over to Sayuri who was in the same state as Miki.

"And you, Sayuri?" She asked.

"I don't know how I am to be perfectly honest… I just hope that Godzilla will be alright." She said.

Keiichi finished looking through his binoculars and heaved a sigh before looking over towards Ken.

"Not looking too good out there. It's got way too many of those things giving it power for it to be even close to a fair fight. If Mothra and the others do show up, I doubt they'll make much headway." He said grimly.

Ken nodded, looking out over the city as he and the others all waited for that moment when Godzilla would arrive to face his evil twin. Judging from their earlier sonar readings he was still about two hours out to sea which meant that this darker twin had more than enough time to gather power and prepare for its assault. Powerful as it was already this dark Godzilla didn't seem to think it could ever have enough power. Miki and Sayuri could both sense its desire to kill Godzilla and be done with it, but they could also sense another emotion brewing deep within this darker twins heart. They looked each other and held hands as they closed their eyes to try and probe its mind, but they were met with fierce resistance. Still, the dark Godzilla was unable to fully suppress its emotions and as Miki and Sayuri opened their eyes and let out a breath they both looked back at Akiko.

"It senses a challenge in Godzilla that it cannot resist… When they do fight, the battle will be anything but quick." They said in unison.

Akiko looked at Ken, slightly bewildered.

"Why would it care about a challenge?" She asked.

Ken let out a breath and thought to himself for a moment, and then seemed to come to something of a realization as he looked back to Akiko.

"Well, think about Godzilla for a moment. Now that I think about it as well, I could see Godzilla being one to enjoy a challenge. His power among the monsters of earth is nearly unmatched, but whenever he senses the presence of another powerful creature he goes to check it out. If Godzilla didn't see or think there'd be a challenge in fighting with Rodan and Burtannus, I doubt he'd have gone looking for them as he did. And even then, he only backed down from fighting Burtannus because of the injuries he received during the fight. Since she was being controlled by humans who could force her to fight better than she could naturally, the fight was unfair to begin with. If Burtannus had fought on instinct and natural ability alone then I seriously doubt that she'd have inflicted damage like that and the fight would have lasted much longer."

Akiko nodded.

"True…"

"Still, that is only a theory. Godzilla may well have simply been acting on animal instinct during those encounters rather than acting on the desire to take up a challenge. This creature is made of his DNA, but it's not Godzilla. It's its own being, and it has its own mind and its own thought process. There is the distinct possibility that this creature simply wishes to fight Godzilla because it knows that he is the strongest monster on Earth and that if he goes down, its reign is all but assured."

Akiko huffed.

"Thanks for the positive energy Ken." She mumbled.

Ken laughed a little to himself.

"Just trying to be realistic Akiko." He said.

She nodded, rolling her eyes sarcastically as she chuckled a bit to herself as well. Despite the nature of the situation facing them, the team felt oddly optimistic. The idea of Godzilla facing this larger and more powerful version of himself felt like just another day in the life of this team of Godzilla researchers, and they even had their recording equipment at the ready for when the battle began to document and analyze when it was over.

Minute after minute passed by as the dark Godzilla continued to gather its power and prepare for the fight against Godzilla himself. The skies turned darker as night fell and the lights within the crystals surrounding the dark Godzilla grew brighter and lit the city surrounding it. Normally, such a thing might very well have been considered a beautiful sight, but in the face of this evil entity it was a frightening and ominous sight to behold. The sheer size of this dark version of Godzilla was made all the more apparent by nightfall with the lights surrounding it as it stood beneath Tokyo Tower.

The massive structure stood majestically at 1,093 feet, and this dark Godzilla stood just over a third of its height. Ken took a picture and did a quick calculation since they finally had something to scale its size against accurately, and he calculated that this creature was between 380-400 feet in height putting somewhere it between 118 and 122 meters. Godzilla was approximately 100 meters, so as Akiko had predicted before this creature was indeed a good 20 meters taller than him. It seemed that no matter how they looked at it, Godzilla was at a serious disadvantage. Still, the optimism had not waned and the team continued to wait patiently for the arrival of Godzilla in the battle against this creature born of humanity's ignorance.

The first monster to arrive, however, was not Godzilla at all. Instead, the first monster to arrive on the scene was none other than Rodan. The team was alerted to his presence by the high pitched sound of its wings cutting through the air at ultra high speeds. The dark Godzilla seemed alerted as well as it began to look at the skies to try and find its new opponent. The team watched the skies and caught brief glimpses of it through some of the gaps in the clouds which were now beginning to slowly glide over the city, and they were so brief that they guessed he had to be moving close to the speed of sound. The dark Godzilla didn't seem to worried, as it watched the skies rather casually which irritated Keiichi a bit.

Then, the unmistakable sound of a sonic boom echoed throughout the skies and made the team cover their ears. Rodan had just gone supersonic beyond the clouds, and the position from which he had was visible as the clouds beneath it were suddenly thrown to the sides in the wake of the blast. Rodan was invisible as it flew beyond the clouds, but then it dove upon its foe with extreme prejudice. Rodan's rough underbelly rammed into the dark Godzilla's head crest causing a small series of sparks to fly out into the air around it, but otherwise had little more effect than to make the monster lean back and take a step or two to correct its balance before it turned to face the flying reptilian bird again. However, Rodan was gone. As it looked around, Rodan appeared and rammed into the back of the monster's head in a similar fashion as to how it did against Godzilla during their first right.

The move had the intended effect and caused the the monster to stagger forward several steps and shake its head to clear its mind before turning once more to try and face the monster fighting against it. Once again, Rodan was gone. Using the clouds was a clever idea, but it would only work for so long. Each time Rodan dove through the clouds, a little bit more of its cover was lost due to the speed in which it flew passed. Rodan seemed to understand this concept though as its attacks became less and less frequent.

"Just what is he up to?" Keiichi asked.

"… He's buying time." Miki and Sayuri responded in unison.

"Buying time? For what?" Keiichi asked in return.

"Not what, Keiichi. Who?" Ken answered.

No sooner had Ken responded to Keiichi's question than Burtannus appeared on the scene by bursting through the ground beneath the dark Godzilla's feet and knocking it to the ground. Burtannus did a quick 180 and gave itself some distance before turning again to face its monstrous foe. As the dark Godzilla struggled to rights its tremendous weight, Rodan dove down upon it and rammed its body into the monster's chest causing a massive tremor in the earth beneath. The bird launched itself off of the dark entity and flew away, but not before suffering the wrath of the evil creature's red lightning attack. Rodan was thrown from the sky and crashed into a nearby skyscraper as Burtannus charged at the downed creature.

The dark Godzilla looked to the side as it made it to its knees and threw its spiked tail towards the charging Burtannus. The monster tried to stop its charge, but was met with the crystal spikes on the tail just above the left shoulder which pierced its tough hide causing a spout of blood to emerge as Burtannus shook violently against the attack and released itself as it retreated back several steps. The dark Godzilla made it to its feet and looked back towards Burtannus as it turned away to try and find its burrow, but the evil monster blasted Burtannus's back with its red lightning attack which threw Burtannus to the ground and singed its hide along its lower back and hips. Burtannus bellowed in pain as Rodan took to the air and tried to begin building up speed for another attack as the dark Godzilla turned on it and launched its attack once more. Rodan was just barely able to dodge the brunt of the attack but still caught the whiplike ending to the violent and unpredictable attack in the left wing singing the flesh and causing his flight pattern to falter.

The dark Godzilla was about to unleash another attack, but as it did so it was struck in the back of the head with a pair of golden twin beams. The team looked out to the source of the attack and found Mothra flying towards the battlefield with great speed.

"I can't believe it…" Ken whispered to himself.

_Friends, we have succeeded in convincing the monsters to aid us in this fight..._ Came the voices of the Shobijin.

"Thank god!" Akiko cried.

"Hell yeah!" Keiichi exclaimed.

Ken nodded his head and looked out at the three monsters as they formed up around the dark Godzilla and gave a grunt of affirmation.

"Come on guys. You can bring this thing down!" He said.

"Just stay calm and work together… We believe in you." Sayuri whispered as she closed her eyes and brought her hands together in front of her chest.

Miki remained silent, but was obviously moved by the sight as she smiled to herself while watching the sight.

Rodan and Mothra circled each other a few times, each one crying out to the other before they split paths and took turns flying over Burtannus to make sure she was alright. While not what anyone would call pristine condition thanks to the now gaping wound on her shoulder, she was still in the fight and ready for more. The dark Godzilla roared out in defiance as it faced its three foes and began to once again draw power from the crystal objects around it. The evil creature's eyes glowed red as it sent out a shockwave of energy towards them. Rodan and Mothra flew out of the way, but Burtannus's bulk meant she could not avoid the attack and was knocked back several steps by the force of it. The electronics of the city were overloaded which caused hundreds of electronic appliances to explode around her. While non of this harmed Burtannus, it did still manage to hurt her sensitive eyes and cause her some degree of discomfort.

Mothra and Rodan dove upon the dark Godzilla, Mothra firing her antennae beams and Rodan preparing to ram it once again as Mothra's attack struck its target. Mothra had aimed for the creature's head crest, but the evil monster had turned its head at the last moment diverting the attack to the side of its head instead and as Rodan came down it turned its head forward again and gashed his stomach with the crest on its head. The gash wasn't horribly deep, but was enough to draw blood and cause Rodan to cry out in pain as it struggled valiantly to right itself as it flew by. The dark Godzilla's eyes flashed red as it released another blast of energy which knocked Rodan from the sky, but in exchange it was struck once again in the back of the head by Mothra's beam attacks. As it turned to face Mothra, Burtannus charged it from the side and rammed into it which knocked it to the ground.

It would not go down quietly however and managed to grab Burtannus's horn on its way down and pulled her down with it. As it dragged Burtannus towards itself it charged its red lightning attack. The red light within its mouth was intense and reminded Ken of a corona effect when there was an eclipse of the sun. He then decided to call it the corona beam in his note pad as he watched the evil monster blast Burtannus in the face with it. Burtannus's flesh was seared, but remained otherwise in tact as she pulled away and tried to shake it off. The dark Godzilla began rising to its feet but was blasted by Mothra's antennae attack once again with Rodan chiming in with a series of gusts from his wings from a perch on a nearby skyscraper. The evil monster struggled against the attacks to stand, but it only managed to get about halfway before it fell forward onto its stomach once more.

Burtannus lunged forward and used its sharp, beak-like mouth to chomp down on the monster's tail in a similar fashion as she had Godzilla's when she was under human control. The attack pierced the monster's flesh and caused it to cry out in pain as it continued to try and right itself. Its body began released small sparks of red electrical current which zapped Burtannus and forced her to release her grip on its tail as it slowly propped itself up on its hands and knees to stand up. On its way it was continually blasted by Mothra and Rodan, but it would not be stopped this time as it made it to its feet and it released a greenish light from its crystal extensions on its shoulders. A few of the crystal objects around Tokyo Tower began flying into the air and began chasing down Mothra and Rodan as they flew through the air. More of the crystals began flying into the air around them as well to try and cut them off, but thankfully the skilled flyers managed to evade the attacks and destroy them as they came in close.

The dark Godzilla was far from finished with its attack as it waited for Mothra and Rodan to destroy the last of the crystals before charging and blasting them with its corona beam. This time the attack was larger and more wide spread than before and struck both of them down in a single shot. Mothra and Rodan hit the ground hard, but avoided many of the larger buildings around them which could have caused a lot of trouble had they been hit by falling debris. Burtannus launched a purple lightning attack of her own at the large monster, but the attack yielded little effect other than to draw its attention to her. Luckily that was the plan as it gave Mothra and Rodan the seconds they needed to get airborne and prepare for a new assault. Burtannus paid a price for its bravery, however, and was struck down with the corona beam from the evil Godzilla creature once again as it aimed for the wound on her shoulder. The attack struck its target and threw much of the surrounding flesh away which opened the wound even wider as Burtannus screamed out in pain as she fell backwards to the ground.

The sinister creature roared out as it gathered power from the crystals surrounding it before Mothra and Rodan could continue their assault. The monster managed to draw quite a bit of power from the crystals during that time, and before Mothra or Rodan could do anything it used a new ability to lift Burtannus into the air and threw her halfway across the battlefield into a large building. Mothra and Rodan tried to double team the monster but were greeted with another concussive blast of energy which threw them off their flight path and forced them to circle around and regain their momentum. The large creature them leaped into the air itself and formed its giant crystal guard as it flew about the airspace while tailing the two much smaller flying monsters. Rodan was able to evade it with ease thanks to the speeds with which he could fly, but Mothra was slower and only just managed to evade a few ramming attacks. Rodan then did something drastic. He flew upside down and under the monster and raked at its belly with his feet which caused a few scratches in his hide, but drew no blood.

Rodan and Mothra were then struck down by the corona beam a few moments later and plummeted to the earth below as the monster flew overhead and admired its work. Almost as if it was gloating it flew in a circle above them, practically daring them to rise. All of a sudden Miki gasped and everyone turned to look at her. Miki's eyes shot towards the east, and as everyone followed her eyes they saw a familiar and oh so welcome sight.

Lumbering through the city on a collision course with the flying monster was Godzilla. Roaring out in challenge and smashing everything in his way as if it didn't exist, Godzilla made his way to the battlefield as Mothra, Rodan and Burtannus looked over at him. The evil twin also halted its flight path and floated in place to watch its ultimate foe approaching the scene. It descended and withdrew its massive crystal guard as it landed on its feet to challenge Godzilla on equal footing as the monster made his entrance to the battle with a single final roar of defiance.

"… Now the fight truly begins." Akiko said quietly.

Everyone nodded slowly as Godzilla and his dark twin squared off. One standing beneath the Tokyo Tower, the other standing in the ruins of the city where the fight had taken place already with the other three monsters rising behind him. Mothra floated over his right shoulder, Rodan his left as Burtannus walked up behind him. Godzilla roared and the other monsters seemed to roar along with him as the dark Godzilla roared in defiance at the threat standing before him. As they continued to square off, Godzilla's spines began to flash and glow with that infamous blue light which the team knew so well. The dark Godzilla's crystal spines began to flash red as it charged its corona beam.

All at once the world went silent and still as the two most powerful monsters in the world faced off for what would be their first, and likely final, battle against one another.


	30. Chapter 30 - Epilogue

The air sizzled and cracked as two enormous powers collided in mid air. Godzilla's thermonuclear breath and the dark Godzilla's red corona beam collided halfway between them and as they each tried to outdo the other. The beams went back and forth slowly at first with Akiko and crew standing with white knuckled at the edge of their skyscraper rooftop overlooking the fight. Mothra, Burtannus and Roda were all hovering behind Godzilla waiting for the collision to end and a winner to be decided. The light created by the colliding beams was immense, and it was almost like staring at a second sun right there on Earth as the beams continued their back and forth tug of war. Then, the darker Godzilla took the upper hand. Gathering energy from the crystals around him through his shoulders he reared his head back and threw it forward as the attack was suddenly supplemented with power.

The beam seared through the air and pushed Godzilla's thermonuclear breath straight back until it nullified it completely and struck Godzilla across the face. Godzilla's head was engulfed in smoke and light as he fell backwards to the ground while the other monsters scattered to begin assisting Godzilla against this titanic foe. Mothra and Rodan flew to opposite ends of the enemy's peripherals and waited while Burtannus began digging underground. Godzilla, in the mean time, stood up and revealed that the flesh on his face was singed and smoking with a single small trickle of blood running down between his eyes from the top of his forehead. The dark twin roared at Godzilla mockingly as the Kaiju roared back and snarled at his opponent. The two titans began walking towards one another at a steady pace, but increased in speed as they got closer.

For the first time, the size difference between them was shown in full. Godzilla was a full head smaller than this creature, not to mention how much bigger the shoulder extensions made him look, not to mention the fact that he was also bulkier than Godzilla in relative size. Godzilla lashed out with his claws trying to push and scratch at the taller version of himself but was pushed away by a single head butt to his chest as he staggered back and fell into a building. The light from the crystals shocked the skies as the dark Godzilla continued gathering power as the other monsters got to work assisting Godzilla in his struggle. Mothra began firing her antennae beams at the evil creature while Rodan worked up some speed and began strafing runs trying to ram it off balance. Burtannus burrowed under the monster and tried to destabilize the ground beneath its feet to help Rodan's efforts.

Rodan's first attempt missed as the monster ducked his attack, but after being forced to focus on Mothra and her antennae beams for a moment Rodan got a lucky shot in and rammed the side of its head. The blow staggered him a few steps and his enormous foot fell into a small pit that Burtannus had dug nearby which caused him to trip and fall to the ground. The tremor released was immense, almost as bad as when Ghidorah struck the ground. Godzilla took advantage of the momentary pause and blasted the monster with his thermonuclear breath not once, but twice. The first blast struck the monster along the back across the crystal spines on his back, and the second attack struck it across the upper shoulder and along his neck as he tried to stand. The force from the blast knocked him forward to the ground again, and as Godzilla charged another attack the evil creature's red eyes locked onto Godzilla as he charged his attack. Upon releasing the attack an energy barrier appeared around the dark menace which reflected Godzilla's breath right back into his chest.

Godzilla stepped back and shook it off, stunned momentarily by what had just happened as the evil menace looked to Mothra and blasted her with his corona beam. The blast had an immediate effect and charred a small section of the outer edge of her left forewing. The effected section turned black and was smoking which forced Mothra to land and assess the damage as Roda swooped down and tried to ram the dark creature again to give her some time. Roda was swatted out of the sky by the massive creature's tail, however, and hit the ground hard after falling into a nearby skyscraper. Burtannus burst forth from the ground and charged the evil entity with her horn, but he seemed to be expecting the attack and grabbed her horn in his right hand and pummeled her with his left before pushing her away and blasting her in the side with his corona beam. The attack wasn't enough to pierce her tough hide, but it was still enough to send her reeling since she still had her shoulder to worry about.

Godzilla's thermonuclear breath then came out of nowhere and struck the monster in the side of the face which instantly had the desired effect of forcing him to turn away and stagger off balance. Godzilla charged forward and rammed into his dark twin and both of them fell to the ground with Godzilla landing on top of him. Godzilla quickly regained his own balance and stood on the side of his opponent as he began bashing it in the sides and in the arm with his closed claws. Mothra had also returned and started blasting the downed Kaiju with her antennae beams as Godzilla continued to bludgeon him with Burtannus charging in and biting down on the creature's thigh with her beak-like mouth which caused a spout of blueish purple blood to come forth from the monster's flesh. In that moment, Godzilla looked to Burtannus and she let go in order to give Godzilla room to blast the new wound with his thermonuclear breath, but the downed monster would be having none of that. releasing a pulse of energy, Godzilla was thrown off balance before his attack could launch successfully and instead blasted Burtannus along the side of her body.

Godzilla went down and Burtannus with him as the dark Godzilla rose to his feet and blasted at Mothra again with his corona beam. She was able to dodge the first attack, but a quick follow up struck her in the face and the underside of her thorax which burned her quite badly. She flew around and landed nearby to try and get her bearings as Rodan took to the skies after his earlier fall and circled around and landed on a nearby rooftop to begin throwing powerful gusts of wind at his foe. The evil Godzilla closed one eye against Rodan's attack, but was otherwise unfazed as he was just too big and heavy for the gusting attack to be effective. Rodan was forced to abandon the strategy when he saw the devilish Kaiju charging his corona beam and took off from the rooftop just as it was destroyed by the evil monster's attack.

Nearby, Akiko and the others watched in amazement and horror at what was going on.

"This is… intense." Keiichi muttered.

Akiko and Ken could only nod and Miki and Sayuri watched with worried eyes.

Godzilla and Burtannus managed to make it to their feet, and Godzilla looked to Burtannus and gave her a single roar which she turned away from and began burrowing again. Godzilla stood up straight and roared at his dark twin to draw its attention as Rodan and Mothra both came together in the skies above to begin attacking from the air. Mothra began using her special attack as she descended upon the evil monster. Flapping her wings and releasing a glowing golden powder into the air, the monster tried to blast her at point blank with his corona beam but it was bounced around and reflected right back into his face. He roared out in pain and turned away from Mothra as she continued to hover there throwing down powder and small bolts of lightning while Rodan circled around and used the confusion to ram the monster in the back of the head, just missing Mothra as he flew off to the side at the last moment while she continued her attack.

The evil monster's eyes glowed red as the crystals on his shoulders lit up and drew more power from the surrounding crystal bodies. The monster lifted its tail and threw it at Mothra who was forced to stop her attack to try and get out of the way, but she saw it too late. Mothra was hit hard in the side and slammed against a building by the creature's massive tail, but it wasn't over for her yet. The evil Kaiju lifted its tail and bludgeoned her into the ground several times as Godzilla fought to make his way over and assist with Rodan doing the same. The dark twin of Godzilla managed to quickly counter their attacks by using his corona beam on Godzilla and by ducking his head under Rodan's ramming attack. It picked up its tail and swung it around to land it right on the side of Godzilla's head which knocked the proud creature to the ground.

As the evil monster turned and looked at Godzilla, he saw that his enemy was lying still with his eyes closed. The monster let out a roar of victory and mockery.

Godzilla was out cold.

Ken and the others could hardly believe what they were seeing. Godzilla had been beaten down before, but never knocked out like this. They all had to admit that the dark twin was quite the fighter to be able to land such a blow so early in the battle. Despite everything which had happened up until now, it was only about three minutes into the conflict and it the physical condition of the monsters involved was any indication it would not last much longer unless something drastic took place.

The dark Godzilla continued its fight with Mothra, Rodan and Burtannus as Godzilla remained unconscious on the ground. Mothra and Rodan were both taken down and left for dead after a few more blasts of the corona beam as well as a follow through with a few tail swipes and a stomp of his foot against each of them for good measure. Burtannus had finally surfaced and fought valiantly against the evil Kaiju, to no avail. Burtannus was defeated as well and beaten down beneath Tokyo Tower to the point where she could fight no longer from her injuries and a lack of energy to continue. The evil monster roared in victory towards the skies as it reveled in its accomplishment, but as it did so its roar of victory was interrupted by a roar of defiance from nearby.

Mothra was still in the fight. Her call had stopped the evil Kaiju's victory celebration short as she struggled to lift her wings and take to the air. The massive form of Godzilla's dark counterpart lumbered towards her slowly, not bothering to rush as it knew she was on her last limbs to just defy him. She could barely lift her head, let alone her wings, and ended up exhausting herself in the process as the monster approached her and looked down upon her. A single roar escaped the evil Kaiju, almost as if to ask her if that was all she had. Mothra cried back at it, which earned her another massive whack from the creature's tail before he turned around to face her again. The blow had picked her up off the ground and thrown her several hundred meters through the air before she landed on the ground upside down. Her cries grew weaker each time she opened her insectoid mouth, and the light in her eyes began to slowly fade as her energy waned.

The dark Godzilla began approaching Mothra once more, and Miki could finally stand it no longer. Miki shut her eyes and extended her thoughts out to this evil entity and forced her way passed its mental defenses. Doing so nearly overwhelmed her, causing her to collapse to the ground on her knees, but she would not falter. One Mothra had died once already and Miki would not allow it to happen again to her offspring. Miki's thoughts broke through as she angrily reminded the gloating creature that the fight was far from over so long as Godzilla drew breath. The wicked Kaiju had stopped in his tracks during Miki's mental intrusion and turned to face the building she and the others were standing on. The monster was a good distance away, but it knew exactly where they were now. Miki knew it was a calculated risk to expose herself like this, but she couldn't sit by as Mothra was slaughtered like this.

The evil Godzilla began walking slowly and confidently towards their building as Miki disconnected her thoughts from it and focused instead on Godzilla. The mighty Kaiju was still down for the count, but she reached her thoughts out to him regardless and began beseeching him for his help. Attempt after attempt failed as Miki's thoughts hit some kind of unknown barrier within Godzilla's mind. It was almost as if his unconscious state had blocked off all outside stimuli and left Miki's thoughts and pleas for help in limbo until he awoke. Miki opened her eyes just in time to see the massive dark twin cross the battlegrounds towards them as he came within about a half mile of their location. She closed her eyes and continued to try and wake Godzilla before a familiar pair of voices entered her mind.

_Miki, can you hear us?_

"… Yes." She whispered.

_We will assist you with all of our power._ They said.

Sure enough, Miki's thoughts were joined by a chorus of chants and prayers sung by the Shobijin. It was a similar melody to the Mothra song they'd sung before to help her hatch from her egg, but the lyrics and parts of the melody were different as they sang for Godzilla. The proud Kaiju's body began to glow in a greenish-blue light as his eyes shot open. Confused, they looked from left to right, and he slowly realized where he was. Standing up with great care and shaking the feeling of having been knocked out from his head, Godzilla looked over to see his dark twin heading towards Miki and the others. Godzilla roared out with all his might, instantly attracting the other monster's attention as he turned and faced Godzilla.

… However, there was a moment where the evil twin turned his head just enough for his eye to land squarely on Miki as she glared up at him. The monster wasn't speaking or communicating with her in any way, but she knew the look in his eye all too well. If there ever was a single glare that meant "you are next", that was it. Miki was not intimidate though as she had all the faith in the world that Godzilla would prevail, but in the back of her mind she was frightened out of her mind about the prospect of this evil entity turning its attention on herself and the others.

Those thoughts would have to wait though as the two Godzillas faced each other once more. Without the support of the other three monsters, Godzilla now stood alone against his oversized and evil twin as the two glared at each other menacingly. Both Godzilla and his evil counterpart didn't move a muscle for what seemed an eternity before the first move was finally made. Godzilla began charging forward towards his evil twin who watched him without moving. As Godzilla came in close his darker counterpart the menacing monster sent out a pulse of energy to stun Godzilla before it then proceeded to use its corona beam on him again. As the beam struck its target along the side of his body, Godzilla looked up and blasted at the creature's face with his thermonuclear breath. The monster was forced to bring up his energy barrier which also worked on his own attack much to his surprise. The attack was reflected around and struck him in the head near the eyes which caused him to shake his head and back away a step.

Godzilla watched as the monster began charging power once more through its shoulders, and Godzilla began to realize the meaning of all the crystal objects around him. Godzilla charged his thermonuclear breath and began blasting each and every one of them that he could see. The evil Kaiju didn't let this go unchallenged and tried to blast Godzilla with his corona beam to stop him from executing his strategy, but Godzilla's willpower forced him to endure the attack as he destroyed the last of the crystals at last. The crystals which were destroyed released energy into the skies which rose up into the atmosphere and disappeared as the evil monster continued his assault on Godzilla. As Godzilla concluded his attack he finally started feeling the effect of the corona beam being used against him and he roared in pain as he staggered backwards against the attack before the dark Kaiju ceased and rested for a moment as Godzilla reeled. Tokyo Tower had been a major source of his energy thus far, but without the crystals around to channel power through it the tower was now all but useless. Out of spite, the evil Kaiju blasted the midsection of the tower and watched it fall to the ground.

As the tower struck the ground the monster turned just in time to catch Godzilla's gaping mouth in his field of view before the feeling of Godzilla's teeth clamping down around his mouth shocked him back into reality. Godzilla held tight, not allowing it to open its mouth to attack with the corona beam as he tightened his jaws to the point where his evil twin began bleeding. Godzilla was finally forced to let go as the wicked monster struck him on the side of the head with his claw and head butted him away. The dark Kaiju followed the attack by ramming Godzilla to the ground and once again blasting him with his corona beam as he struggled to right himself. It was then that a new thought struck the monster's mind as he stopped firing the corona beam and instead looked to the skies and took off. Its massive crystal guard coming out around it, the monster flew circles overhead as Godzilla stood up and watched him.

Circle after circle, the monster watched Godzilla and then dove down towards him. Godzilla leaned back and began firing his thermonuclear breath at him, but the attack struck the crystal objects and did little to halt the monster's attack. As the giant monster dove down on his counterpart, the jagged crystals surrounding it were aimed at skewering the proud Kaiju. Godzilla knew what its evil twin was aiming to do and ducked down as low as he could as the monstrous creature flew over just barely missing him on the way. Godzilla turned as fast as he could and blasted again, but again it struck the crystals surrounding his foe and yielded little effect. Godzilla watched as the monster turned in the air and chose this time to aim for a new target. Godzilla dug in and charged up his thermonuclear breath, drawing on almost every ounce of power he had to focus it into this one attack. Taking careful aim as the monster dove on him again Godzilla released the attack while aiming for the dark Kaiju instead of just trying to stop the mass as a whole. The attack struck home and hit the massive creature in the face and across his chest which threw off its concentration and caused it to crash into the ground.

The tremor released was beyond even that of Ghidorah hitting the ground and knocked the entire team off their feet as they watched it hit the ground. Even Godzilla struggled to keep his feet and his balance as he too tracked the monster's descent and impact point. The crystals slowly retracted, and Godzilla was already approaching as fast as he could to continue the fight. The stress, however, was showing as Godzilla's steps had slowed and his chest was rising and falling faster than before which indicated his level of fatigue. Being a Kaiju, he had mass stores of energy. But against an enemy of this level he had no choice but to go all out which was quickly draining his energy. As the team stood up again to look out at the now slowly standing twin of Godzilla, they were amazed that it was relatively undamaged by the fall. No new cuts or signs of injury at all as it rose to its feet and turned to face off with Godzilla once more.

"This is insane. Even without all those crystals giving it power it's still not taking much damage." Akiko said quietly to herself.

Ken heard her comment and nodded.

"This sucks." Keiichi muttered.

Sayuri clasped her hands together and prayed for Godzilla as Miki looked on. She was silent and unmoving, watching Godzilla as he struggled to remain in the fight against this monstrous foe. Its power seemed to have no end despite the lack of crystals around it, and Godzilla was fast using up what little remained of his power. The outcome was going to be painfully obvious if something extreme didn't happen, but there was nothing at all that Miki could do. She had no power or energy to give to Godzilla that would be worth anything. All she could do was watch, wait, and pray.

_Friends…_ Came the voices of the Shobijin.

All went quiet.

_We have one last hope to defeat this creature. Please, lend us your courage as we sing one last time for Godzilla. We're certain that Godzilla could use the encouragement as well as us..._ They said.

Ken, Akiko, Keiichi, Sayuri and Miki all listened to the plea and silently joined their hands together in a circle as the voices of the Shobijin began to sound once more.

The Shobijin sang the song of Mothra, extending their power to her and giving her the energy to take once more to the skies. As she slowly rose from the Earth she flew straight up into the air and away from the battleground. The evil Godzilla seemed to notice her ascension and tried to stop her, but she was already too far away for him to be accurate with his corona beam. Mothra flew higher and higher into the sky until she found what she was looking for. While it was invisible to the eyes of humans, the energy released by the exploding crystals which Godzilla destroyed were clearly visible to her eyes as she slowly flew in circles to gather it in one place before absorbing it into her body. Newly empowered by the energy she'd collected, Mothra dove back down towards the battlegrounds and Godzilla was knocked to the ground by his darker twin. Mothra used a single dose of her new power to strike the evil Kaiju on the head with her antennae beams which made him stagger back a few paces as she landed on Godzilla.

Godzilla initially struggled, but a cry from Mothra stilled him as her eyes began to light up as the energy she'd collected was then transferred to Godzilla via his spines. Glowing a bright blue hue, Godzilla's body readily absorbed the energy from Mothra as the evil entity looked on and began desperately blasting the pair with his corona beam. Mothra was able to leap into the air at the last second and use her powder attack to reflect the attack at the cost of no longer sending her energy to Godzilla. At that moment, Rodan had also managed to rise and used what remained of his energy to fly as fast as he could into the back of the monster's head and knock him to the ground. Mothra resumed her transfer of power, and as the last of her energy was released Godzilla stood up and roared out with such ferocity it shook the ground all the way to where the team was gathered, hands still clasped together in their circle as they looked out at the battlefield.

Rodan was tossed aside as the evil Godzilla stood up to see himself now face to face with a newly energized Godzilla. Once again at a seeming standstill, the two watched each other silently before the evil twin launched his corona beam. Godzilla's spines erupted in a red light as he released his red spiral ray which easily overtook the corona beam and blasted the dark Godzilla in the face which knocked him to his back on the ground. Godzilla charged his attack and blasted the monster twice more, the force and energy of the attack causing the ground and buildings around it to explode and catch fire. Godzilla used the attack once more and the entire area burst into flame. The sounds of the evil Godzilla roaring out was weak and fading as the area was engulfed in hundreds of small particles of light which rose into the air and, like the energy released from the crystals, flew up towards the atmosphere. Godzilla watched them warily, but never the less released a roar of victory towards the skies.

Mothra, Rodan and Burtannus all had almost no energy left, but never the less they had managed to release a single cry each to sound with Godzilla's own. The team watched in amazement at the sight, slightly bothered by the massive fires still burning where the dark Godzilla had since disappeared from, but still incredibly happy about Godzilla's victory. Godzilla stopped roaring after a few moments and slowly began walking back towards Tokyo Bay as the other monsters continued to rest and regain their energy now that the fight was over and would soon be leaving themselves to recover from their injuries. Godzilla slowly walked through the city towards Tokyo Bay as the team made their way to the RV as fast as possible and followed him on his journey home. As they reached the coast and watched Godzilla wade out knee deep into the water they all got out of the RV to say goodbye.

"Well, there he goes again." Akiko said.

"Yep. But I wonder what became of that dark version of him." Keiichi remarked.

"Not sure, but I doubt that it could simply disappear." Sayuri said.

"… I was able to feel its presence up until Godzilla's roar." Miki said quietly as the others all looked to her.

_Friends…_ The Shobijin said as everyone looked up to the skies.

_The monster is not dead, only temporarily vanquished. It has retreated to the depths of space to regain its power and will undoubtedly be back in the future to finish what it started. Godzilla has won this battle, but the war against this evil is far from finished._

"… Spacegodzilla!" Keiichi said.

Ken and Akiko looked at him, wondering if he'd hit his head or something.

"It retreated to space and it looks like Godzilla, so why not call it Spacegodzilla?" He asked.

Ken was too tired to disagree and only shook his head as he released a sigh.

Miki took a few steps forward and watched Godzilla as he waded out into waist deep water and smiled.

"Sayonara Godzilla." She whispered quietly.

Godzilla roared in the distance and turned his head to look back at the shore where she and the others were standing. After a moment of silent connection, Godzilla turned and continued his way out to sea.

"So what now?" Keiichi asked.

"We go back to work, what else?" Akiko asked.

Keiichi chuckled to himself a bit at Akiko's remark.

"Godzilla sure is a wonder isn't he?" Sayuri asked.

Akiko and Ken looked at her and then at each other as they stood together on the shore.

"He sure is." Akiko whispered as she rested her head on her fiancé's shoulder.

"He's without a doubt the strongest Kaiju the world has ever seen." Ken added.

"Yep, he's the king!" Keiichi said happily.

Ken looked at Keiichi for a moment and smiled as he looked back to the sea as Godzilla slowly began to disappear beneath the waves of the ocean.

"The King of the Monsters." Ken said quietly.

Before disappearing beneath the waves, Godzilla unleashed one final roar to finalize his supremacy.


End file.
